A Habit Hard to Break
by GradeASexual
Summary: After conquering Heckapoo's challenge, Marco thought he was prepared for anything. He just didn't realize how difficult adjusting to life back on Earth would be.
1. Chapter 1: 14 and Counting

Marco stared down at the ground as sweat dripped from his face. It wasn't enough. He pushed against the floor with all his might, but the exhaustion was too much. Nineteen. He could do nineteen push-ups in a row. 23 sit-ups. He never realized how flabby and weak his teenage body was until now, and it pained him that he got to whatever belt in karate he apparently had without being able to do even a quarter of what his adult body was capable of. With a groan, he sat up and walked over to his closet, taking a look inside and noting the red belt hanging from a hanger. Oh, right.

A quick glance to the window told him it was probably about four in the morning. He had no idea what time everyone would be up in the house. Normally, he would be on the road already, following a lead or tracking her trail, but now he just had to wait and do nothing. For the first time in over a decade, he was bored out of his mind. He glanced around the room and saw a pile of textbooks under his bed. With a sigh, he picked them up and put them into his backpack. He would need them for class.

Oh god, class. He briefly remembered one time that he asked his dad for help with a math problem and his dad said he didn't remember how to do it. It sounded ridiculous at the time, but as Marco tried to recall any of the math he'd learned sixteen years ago (wait, no. this year, he had to remind himself), it all came up blank.

Well, since he wasn't tired and had nothing to do, he might as well try to catch back up to speed. He searched his room, and after like ten minutes, he found his notebooks. Hopefully he took detailed enough notes to reteach himself algebra or whatever class it was. Looking through the pile of color-coded notebooks, he pulled out one with a title written in glitter and completely indecipherable, which was most likely Star's doing. The chickenscratch written inside didn't help either. Marco had underestimated how bad his handwriting used to be. After squinting at a few different words, he realized there was no way he was going to translate it anytime soon.

With a deep sigh, he put the notebook down and looked back out at the window. It was about four ten now. At least the emptiness of the city was calming, though the faint buzz of technology had been giving him a headache. He looked back at his computer. The password was a hurdle he would have to overcome eventually, but he had no leads yet. He definitely couldn't go to sleep, and there was nothing in his room that could occupy the time.

Maybe a run. He stretched and put some clean clothes on. Sneaking through the house in the dark sounded easy, but he would rather not risk it, so Marco just cracked open the window and jumped down into the yard. Using perfect form, his feet hit the ground but catapulted him into a roll and then back to his feet. As a sharp pain reached across his soles, he remembered the first few months he'd been chasing Heckapoo and the dull fact that he had really soft feet. That apparently made landing hurt _really_ bad, and made Marco instantly regret his decision to trust a body that he no longer knew anything about.

Bearing through the pain, he started to run through the yard. He gripped the top of the fence before him and attempted to pole vault himself over it, scratching his pants and leg in the process. He landed on the other side and let out an annoyed groan. If he couldn't even do this, how was he ever going to get back to where he was? Not the dimension, but his body. He was already kind of annoyed that he'd have to go through the physical act of growing up again, but he was hoping that it wouldn't take another sixteen years to get his body to work right. He took a deep breath and started running again, paying attention to which directions he headed so as not to get lost. The good thing about roads were that they were a little easier to remember than rocks and trees, so he had no worries about making it back.

At least one thing that Marco kept was the ability to pace himself. He could work his body to a sweat, but never reach exhaustion. He kept running until the dark blue of the sky began to turn purple at the horizon, and he ran back to the yard in time for morning. He hopped the fence again and climbed up to his window, annoyed that it took him twice as long as it would have in Heckapoo's dimension. His alarm started ringing just as he changed out of his sweaty shirt and bloody pants (that cut was apparently deeper than he'd given it credit for). He walked over to the alarm and pressed pretty much every button on the damn thing before it actually stopped ringing.

Marco walked through the dark hallway to the bathroom. Alarms blared from behind at least one of the doors, and it took him three tries to find the bathroom again. He locked the door behind him and walked over to the shower. He'd taken a shower the night before, and it was such a calming and surreal experience that he took almost half an hour to clean himself. Star had assured him it wasn't that long of a shower, but Marco hadn't spent that much time cleaning himself in years.

Marco turned on the shower and stepped inside. He took a deep breath as cool water cascaded across him. He started to scrub his body and then he heard the familiar voice of Star Butterfly echo through the room.

"Goooood morning, Marco!" How? He locked the- oh. Right. He gave her the scissors. Figures.

"Uh, morning..." He scrubbed harder and started to clean out the gash on his leg. If he'd only brought some ta'khu leaves with him. His leg would be better within the hour. He made sure the cut was sufficiently cleaned and turned the water off.

"Uh, Marco? Are you done already?" Star asked from where she was doing her hair with magic.

Marco grabbed a towel and threw it around himself. It took a minute to get the towel to wrap correctly so it didn't fall off, and then he opened the shower and stepped out. "Yeah, why?"

"You didn't even steam up the mirror. Are you okay?"

Marco nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." He didn't want her to worry over nothing. Marco grabbed another towel and started to dry his hair with it. Star just stared at him suspiciously, and Marco smiled reassuringly at her. "I swear. I'm totally okay."

"Ooookaaaay. If you say so." She returned to doing her hair but kept an eye on him anyway. After Marco finished drying off, he left the bathroom.

"I'm gonna go get dressed." He didn't wait for her reply before going back down the hallway to his room and locking the door behind him.

With a deep sigh, he went to his closet, which was filled with his red hoodies, plus his leather jacket from the last stretch of the chase. It didn't feel right wearing it now, so he grabbed a hoodie and tossed it over his head.

It was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2: And That's History

As Marco finished getting dressed (which included wrapping his leg in a tourniquet), he left his room and walked down the stairs to the living room. His parents were up now, and they were preparing what looked like a feast for breakfast. Marco guessed it had to do with the breakdown he had when he saw them for the first time the night before, and how Star had to explain to them that he'd been trapped in another dimension "for a while". After hearing that, his parents had coddled him a lot more than he would have liked, and they were probably making the giant breakfast as some sort of welcome back gesture.

Marco sat at the table and looked at the piles of pancakes and eggs. He hadn't seen this much food since he rescued that village from the Gar'bun'ka pirates. The villagers' food had been half-rotten, but he ate it gladly considering he'd been starving for a week. His mother put another plate down (french toast?) and then handed him an empty plate to fill with whichever food he wanted.

"Eat up, Honey! I don't know what they made you eat in that other place, but it can't be as good as your dad's french toast!"

Well, she wasn't wrong. Marco took a piece of french toast and took a bite. It was delicious. He almost felt like crying. Here they were, enjoying these kingly pleasures, and he'd been to dozens of villages and towns that could barely make enough bread to feed their children. A pang of guilt hit him as his mom's expectant face stared him down. He took another bite.

It was just as delicious the second time, but his mother didn't seem to get that impression from his face. "Are you okay, Marco?"

Marco managed a smile. "Yeah, it's delicious." His dad turned around to face him.

"Oh, we know it is. But are _you_ okay?" His dad pointed a spoon at him for emphasis.

Marco smiled at him the best he could. "Yeah, I'm just a little bugged out by all the food." It was as close to honesty as he was willing to give them. The last thing he wanted was everyone stepping on eggshells around him.

A frown spread across his mother's face. "No more adventures for a little bit, okay? I don't want you to get lost again. You neither, Star." She asked it like it was a request, but the stern look in her eyes told them it was an order.

"Okay, Mrs. Diaz." Star pulled Marco's scissors out of her bag and handed them to his mom.

"Thank you. You'll get these back in a week, okay? And when you go adventuring from now on, please try to be more careful?"

"Yeah, definitely, definitely, definitely." Star rigorously nodded her head in a way that was just catering to his mom, but it cheered her up anyway. In a second, the tension dissolved.

"Good! Now, let's eat some breakfast!" His mom grabbed a plate and started shovelling food on to it.

Marco grabbed a couple pancakes and started eating them. He felt like he was eating them too slow, but he watched everyone else and tried to keep pace with them instead. The pancakes were really good, but he kept thinking to the parents who died to feed their children in the Plains of Wrath. Somehow that made the pancakes taste a little worse.

"Oh, look at the time!" His mom started picking plates off the table. "You're gonna miss the bus again if you don't hurry!"

That prompted Star to jump to her feet and run up the stairs. Marco followed and went up into his room. The notebooks were still scattered by the side of the bed, so he gathered them up into his backpack and double checked that he had everything. He barely remembered what he needed, but all his textbooks and notebooks and a few pencils sounded about right.

He left his room with the backpack hanging from his shoulder and watched as Star scrambled around for her things. As soon as she was satisfied, she grabbed Marco's hand and pulled him down the stairs and out the door. Marco watched as the bus pulled away and Star groaned.

"Well, we missed the bus. Looks like we'll have to stay home today," Marco said, hoping for the best.

"Alright, time to run!" she said before grabbing Marco again and bolting down the street. Marco followed closely behind her and the feeling of being dragged around by Star felt almost nostalgic. He'd missed this. A big smile spread across his face as they raced back to the school and he even laughed a bit.

Apparently that was exactly what Star needed, because even she began to relax (he hadn't even noticed how tense she was) and started _actually_ racing him. Marco smiled and they chased after each other until they made it to the entrance to the school. Marco knew he could beat Star, even with his flabby old body, but he had no idea where the school was, so he trailed just a little behind her the whole way. When she reached the edge of the stairs at the entrance of the school, Star smiled teasingly.

"Wow. Riding that dragon-cycle so long must've made you lazy," she said, punching his arm teasingly. "It's okay. Once we get the scissors back, we'll have plenty of places to run to."

"And away from," Marco added.

"Yeah, but we've got each other's back."

Marco had heard that line before a hundred times, and his first thought was of all the times in the shifting chaos of alliances that was Heckapoo's dimension that he'd been betrayed. But this was Star! In an instant, all the feelings of distrust that surfaced were gone as he remembered that she was the whole reason he started the quest to begin with, and the whole reason he came back. He could trust her.

"Yeah, you're right. There would be nothing to worry about." Between his expertise and Star's magic, they'd probably be unstoppable in every dimesnion.

A loud ringing came from the school. Star jumped a little at the sound and raced inside.

Marco walked up after her and took in the sight of the school. His memory had twisted it somewhat, and he didn't even realize it. It was the little details that he forgot, like the scuffs on the rail where some idiots had skateboarded too many times, or the faded letters along the entrance.

After a moment, he walked through the building. Star caught his wandering gaze, and she ran up to him.

"Marco! Come on! We're gunna be late!" She pulled him over to what must have been his first class and pushed him to his seat. He sat, and looked around at the classroom.

"Star, what class is this?" he asked.

"Uh, did you sleep at all last night? It's History." History? God he hoped there would be some kind of review today, because he had no idea what he was even supposed to be studying. After the bell rang again, the teacher stood up from her desk and spoke to the class.

"Alright everyone, I hope you've been studying." She held up a pile of papers and started to pass them out. They were taking a quiz today.

Marco looked down at the paper handed to him. It was complete gibberish. Literally. When had he forgotten how to read English? He briefly tried to remember the last time he'd even seen English in its written form, and realized it hadn't shown up once in his entire 16 year journey. By the time he'd gotten a journal, he'd learnt Riradesh and it was so much easier and faster to write than English (a single symbol could represent an entire sentence or phrase) that he only wrote a few entries in English before switching over. The teacher's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"You have fifteen minutes. Books on the floor."

Oh. Right. The quiz. He looked back down at it. Several words seemed familiar, but there was no way he was going to translate this in the fifteen minutes they got to work on the thing. At least it was multiple choice.

Marco had two options before him. The first was to answer each question randomly and the second was to get his answers from the people who understood what was even on the page. He figured he'd be better off trusting his classmates' knowledge than random luck, and so he took a deep breath and looked down at his paper again.

Out of the corners of his eyes he could see the papers of the people next to him, and he noticed that they both had circled the second answer on the first question. He quickly did the same and then looked to the second question. This time, they had two different answers. He bit his lip and decided that the person farther ahead in the quiz was probably more knowledgeable in the subject.

Switching to just copying that student, he finished the quiz with five minutes to spare. Marco stared back down at the paper and tried to read it again. He knew the word at the top, before a long line, must have been "name", but he only knew that because it made sense, not because he was actually reading it. The teacher called that the time was up and started collecting the quizzes from everyone. Some students complained that they didn't get to finish.

"If you didn't have enough time to answer all the questions, then you obviously didn't know the material," she said, "and also, there were three versions of the quiz, so if you cheated off another person, I'll know." She shot Marco a sharp look and he felt his stomach drop.

She knew. She knew and he was going to fail.

"Now why don't you all get together with your reading partners and read the next chapter together while I grade these. Then, we'll go over the answers together."

Marco swallowed uneasily. He didn't really know how long he would have been able to pretend he could read English, but he didn't like the idea of the entire class finding out on the first period of his first day back.

"Marco! Pssst! Come sit by me!" Star excitedly whispered at him from the other side of the class. She gestured for him to come and sit in the seat beside her. Marco grabbed his backpack with all the books in it and walked over to her.

"Hey," Marco said, attempting to sound like his whole world wasn't about to crash down on him.

"Wanna do it the usual way?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah. Sure." Marco hoped the usual way was just Star reading out loud to him, though he doubted it.

"What's wrong?" Star frowned and scooted her desk against his.

"I…" He couldn't say it. There was something just so dehumanizing about telling someone he didn't know how to read.

Star bit her lip and then smiled understandingly at him. "Wanna start the chapter?" She pulled out a textbook and put it on her desk.

"Y-yeah. Sure." He looked down as she opened up to a page with a big picture on it of some painting of a battle. She turned the page and the next one was covered in words and Marco realized that there was no way he was going to make it through the day. Star turned her attention to Marco expectantly and he realized he was supposed to read first. Great. He looked back down at the page at started at the top left (that was how English worked, right? He remembered that, at least), putting his finger under the first word and attempting to wrack his brain for what it meant. Yeah, there was no way he was translating this on the spot.

"I-... er...um…" He mumbled under his breath for a long moment, sliding his finger across the words in an attempt to imitate reading.

"Marco, you look like you're about to cry…" Star looked worriedly at him.

"I-I'm just feeling a little under the weather. Still adjusting to Earth's climate, I guess," he lied, hoping that was enough to drop the subject. It wasn't.

"Whatever it is, you can tell me…" She stared him down and it forced an answer out of him.

"I- I can't say it out loud." He was being honest, at least. The second he said it out loud, that made it real, and way too big for him to handle right now.

"You can write it down." Star handed him a paper and Marco felt like he was going to throw up. She looked at him expectantly and he couldn't take it anymore.

He ran out the classroom door and into the hallway. He wasn't sure where he was headed, but anywhere was better than where that conversation was taking him.


	3. Chapter 3: Back to Basics

Marco raced past doors that all looked the same. It only made it more frustrating that he couldn't tell what was on the signs labeling them. And so he just kept running, maybe in circles or maybe to an exit or something else, until he saw the cafeteria in front of him. He slowed to a stop and caught his breath.

He walked into the empty room, sat down at a table, and started to hyperventilate.

He couldn't read. Like 90% of Earth's society revolved around reading. You couldn't go five feet without having to use a sign or get a text or read _something_. Marco closed his eyes tight. He was going to be a burden to everyone. He had hopped out of a world he had conquered, and into a world where he was just a little kid crying in a cafeteria.

"Marco?" Star's voice echoed a little despite her quiet tone.

Marco looked up at her. She was holding a paper in one hand and his backpack in the other.

"What are you doing here?" he managed.

"I went to find you in the utility closet, but you weren't there," she said. Marco then remembered how he used to hide in that closet whenever he wanted to escape the craziness of the school, and realized that if he'd been able to read which door it was, he probably would have hidden there instead.

"I couldn't find it."

Star sat down next to him and put his backpack on the table. "When you left, I told the teacher you were sick," she explained, "and she told me to go check on you. She also wanted me to give you this."

Star handed the paper to Marco and he realized it was his quiz. There were red circles across half the questions. "She said you can retake it tomorrow, if you want."

"It wouldn't matter." Marco stared down at the paper. It was still all gibberish.

Star bit her lip. After a moment, she pointed at the top of the paper. "What's this? It looks familiar." Marco looked up at his name and wanted to slam his head into the table.

"It's my name." In the Ancient Tongue. He didn't even realize he'd written his name down like that.

"It looks cool, it's like the writing on the scissors." Oh. She couldn't read his name on the scissors either, could she.

"They're the same thing. It's one of the languages I learned in Heckapoo's dimension." He took a deep breath. "Its one of the only two written languages there."

"Is that why you can't read English anymore?"

Marco froze. Either she could read him well enough to tell, or it was just _that_ obvious. God, it was all crashing down on him.

"Hey, hey. It'll be okay." Star put an arm around his shoulder and smiled at him. Marco felt tears pool in his eyes.

"I'm going to fail all my classes, Star. I'll have to stay back, my whole life will fall behind and I'll be useless and weak and-" Marco sucked in a breath and Star wrapped him in a tight hug.

"I'm gonna teach you English," she stated, filled with determination.

"Really?" He couldn't imagine Star being any sort of teacher or even a tutor.

"How hard could it be?" She pulled away from the hug and smiled confidently at him.

Marco still didn't buy it.

"It could take years…"

"You knew how to read it before, didn't you? It's like riding a warnicorn! You never forget, you just gotta muster up the courage to get on the saddle again." Star pulled out a paper and pencil.

"You want to start now?" Marco said incredulously. It seemed a little ridiculous to just start after he'd had a mental breakdown.

"No time like the present! Ready to read?"

"I guess." Marco took a deep breath and looked down at the paper. This was the first step toward getting better. Star started writing down a long string of symbols, which he assumed where letters.

"Okay, the first step to learning English is the Alphabet. There's twenty-something of these little guys called," She paused dramatically, "Letters."

Marco started seriously regretting having Star take on this daunting task. She continued explaining enthusiastically.

"Now, the trick is, not all of them are useful. Like Q, for example. When are you going to use that? It makes you question why they have it there in the first place!" Star then laughed at herself when she realized she'd said something funny, and Marco sat there confused.

"This isn't the time for grammar jokes, Star." This was serious business. "And I doubt English is that broken."

"That was a fluke, I'm sorry," Star said through giggles.

"Why don't you just start with my name? You know, like something easy?" Marco didn't want to be so patronizing. After all, Star was going out of her way to do this and she was trying her best. Luckily, she didn't seem to take offense.

"Great idea, Marco! And thus the Student becomes the Master." She stroked her chin mock-thoughtfully.

"I don't think there ever was a master," he said. Star brushed off his comment, but not before pouting at him.

"Okay, let's get serious now." She wrote a word down on the paper that was supposedly his name. "See? Mar-co!" she said, pointing at the two halves of the word. "Now you try."

She handed the pencil to Marco and he copied the word.

"Okay, do it again," she urged. Marco copied the word again. Somehow this felt like a punishment rather than a lesson. He didn't think he was actually learning what made the word his name.

"English is phonetic, right?" Marco asked. "Can't you just teach me the letters' sounds, useless and all?"

"How about we start with the letters in your name?" Star suggested. "Like a compromise."

Marco looked down at the paper, where his name was written 3 times, and nodded. "It's a good place to start."

Star smiled giddily and pointed down at the paper. "The first letter is M. It makes an mmm sound, like Mmm-arco, or mmmagic, or, uh, nammme." She wrote down the first symbol and Marco copied it.

"Okay, so it'd be at the front of 'magic', and in the middle of 'problematic' or 'punishment'," Marco said, trying to get a feel for the placement. In Riradesh, it was a jumbled mess if you went with the phonetic glyphs, because you just combined the phonetics into the same glyph, which led to a lot of meanings for the same glyph.

"Uh… yeah!" Star had apparently spelled out the larger words in her head. "Exactly. The next letter is A." She pointed to the next letter in his name. "A's a vowel, so it has, like, a bunch of different sounds it can make?" She shrugged for emphasis. "It can be an 'ah' like M-ah-rco, or an 'ay' like p-ay-per, or probably a bunch of other ways it can be pronounced, especially when it's mixed with other vowels."

"Sounds confusing," Marco said, trying to figure out how the hell this was supposed to be his first lesson.

"Yeah, okay. Maybe that's stuff we don't have to worry about yet. Let's just say that A makes an 'ah' or 'ay' sound for now." She wrote the letter down on the paper and Marco copied it. "Good! M and A make a 'mah' sound, see? Like mah-rco."

"Yeah, I get it." Marco tried to not feel like a little kid. Star was kind of switching between using too loose and too complex terms and just treating him like a baby. Even though it felt dehumanizing, he'd rather the baby terms than the complex ones. It hurt his pride even more if he felt lost in the lesson.

"The next letter is R, and that makes an 'err' sound-"

"As in Mah-err-co," he interrupted.

"Yeah!" Star wrote the letter down. "See? It's the third letter in your name."

Marco copied the letter and looked up at her. "What's next?"

"C, which makes a 'cuh' sound."

"Got it. M-ah-err-cuh-o. Makes sense so far." Okay, maybe this wouldn't be too hard. "What's the last one?"

"This one's O, which can be pronounced as 'oh' or 'oo'." Star wrote the last letter down and Marco copied it. He looked down at his name again.

"So, someone could think my name is either Marco or M-ay-rc-oo, if they had never heard it before?" Star frowned and looked at his name again and then laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so!" She had probably never even thought of it that way. "My name has an A in it, too, so I guess I have the same problem. It could be Star or Stare."

Marco smiled and was glad he'd gotten it so easily. It might not actually take years if he could get the basics down alright. It would still probably take a few months though, and he didn't know if he could survive that long without being able to read and write.

An idea hit him. "Star, isn't there some sort of spell you could use to teach me English all at once?"

Apparently it wasn't as good of an idea as he'd thought it was. Star's smile fell and she scratched awkwardly at her arm.

"Probably... but, Ludo has the spellbook and Glossaryck, remember?"

It took a moment for Marco to realize what she'd meant. He wracked his brain for the memories of a large spellbook getting taken, but it was just a fragment of a memory that remained, where he had an image of Star sobbing on his shoulder after she'd lost them. He realized that they had never gotten them back.

"Oh… uh, sorry," he whispered. He hadn't meant to dig up what was probably a fresh wound for Star (when had Glossaryck been kidnapped? Was it months or days ago?) but apparently the damage was already done.

Star opened her mouth to reply, but the words were overcome by a loud bell ringing through the halls. As the sound died out, she said, "Um... we have to go to second period."

Marco sighed. "I don't suppose you can stop time so I can learn this frustrating language before class?"

Star looked at him like he had three heads. "You don't remember that at all?"

"Remember what?"

"The last time we stopped time, it was a huge hassle to get it restarted again. It was like, this whole thing."

Marco thought back. Yeah, nothing was coming up. "Nope. Don't remember. I'll take your word for it though." He shrugged. They'd gone through so many random adventures that most of them kind of blended together across the years. He probably had some sort of memory of the adventure she was talking about, like a terrifying moment or something, but he didn't remember the part of it that specifically involved time.

Something seemed to click in Star's head, though. He could see it on her face. Her lips made a silent 'oh' and her eyes went wide. It was like she had really taken in the fact that Marco was gone for 16 perilous years, the fact that their adventures had become his childhood memories, blurred and far away in his mind, and just how deep this all went.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she whispered, her eyes tearing up. Marco wanted to say it was okay, but she pulled him into a hug and squeezed him like she was afraid of losing him, and Marco felt a couple of tears pool in his own eyes.

"I-It's okay, Star," he assured, barely able to breathe through the hug. She loosened up a little.

"But you were there because of my stupid scissors! You have to deal with all that because... because-"

"Because I'm stubborn," Marco interrupted, "Don't put this on you. Playing her game was my choice." Granted, it had become a forced choice after the only time Heckapoo had offered him a way home, but he'd still made the original decision. Marco slowly pulled out of the hug to look her in the eyes. "I can deal with the repercussions. Besides, I have a great teacher to help me."

A blush spread across Star's face. "Really? You think so?"

"Really." She wasn't the best at teaching, but Marco knew that most people would've given up on him already. Her dedication made her irreplaceable as both a tutor and a friend.

"Are you gonna be okay for the rest of the day, though?"

"I'll manage somehow," Marco said, trying to look as confident as he could. "What's the next class?"

"Miss Skullnick's Trig. I'm in that one, too," Star said. Good. She could help him through the class if he needed it. What was trig again, though? The word bounced across his brain and he couldn't place it.

"Thank god."

"Are you sure you don't wanna just call out sick?" She asked. Marco shook his head.

"No. It'll be awkward and uncomfortable no matter when I go to class. I might as well get a feel for them now."

"Well, okay. But just remember, if anything bothers you, find me. I'll help you through it."

Marco smiled. "Thanks. Will do."

Star stood and reached a hand out to him. "We should go. We're gonna be late." Marco took her hand and they walked out of the cafeteria and into the crowded hallway. Even though it would be tough, they'd make it through alright.


	4. Chapter 4: Unfamiliar Faces

Star pulled Marco through the hallway, weaving through the crowds of people as she went. They had probably spent too much time in the cafeteria after the bell had rung, so they were practically running. Marco didn't want to bring any more attention to himself by being late for class, so he was happy they were rushing like this. Considering Star was dragging him along, Marco took a moment to analyze his surroundings and look for any landmarks, but everything looked the same. It was all just lockers in between evenly spaced doors and what he assumed were bathrooms every other hallway.

And then Marco crashed straight into Star's back, as she had hit someone ahead of her.

"Oh, hey! Star and Marco!" Some guy said as he stood back up from Star's impact.

"We haven't seen you guys in weeks!" the shorter guy next to him said, "It's like you've been actively avoiding us!"

"What? Nooooo..." Star put her hand behind her head and tried to act like she wasn't lying through her teeth. "That's ridiculous!"

"You wanna see my new opossum suit?" the shorter guy said. "I found it in the park last week. I finally got the stains off!" Marco didn't even know what to think.

"You know, _Ferguson_ ," Star jabbed Marco's arm with her elbow to punctuate the name, "That sounds like a _blast_ , but me and Marco _really_ gotta get to class."

After hearing the name, it came back to him. This was Ferguson and Alfonso, his childhood friends. From what he could remember, there wasn't anything particularly remarkable about them. He guessed when you roommate with a magical princess everyone else seems kinda boring.

"Well, then, uh-" Alfonso stuttered desperately, "M-maybe we can, uh, hang out, like, after school, t-to catch up or something?"

Marco had clearly been neglecting his friends. He was beginning to feel bad. He looked over at Star with his patented "how do we fix this?" face, but she did not notice him. Instead, Star looked lost in thought before finally cracking a smile.

"Y'know, Alfonso, you're absolutely right!" Star said. Ferguson and Alfonso started to glimmer with hope. "Why don't we, uh, go over to the stairs and discuss our plans." She turned to Marco. "You go ahead of me. I can afford to be late to class."

Marco smiled back. She was taking one for the team. "Okay, thanks," Marco said, and Star was off, dragging his childhood friends off in some random direction. Marco turned back to the direction they had been going before the interruption.

Wait. Yeah, he had no idea where to go still.

Marco walked about ten feet through the halls before deciding he wasn't about to go through the same confusion as last period. Not wanting to be caught in the hallway, Marco walked to the bathroom (it's the thing with a water fountain by it, right?) and went inside as the bell rang throughout the halls. Defeated, he locked himself in a stall to wait out the class.

Marco pulled his pant leg up and looked at the leg he'd injured that morning. He pulled the tourniquet off and examined the wound. Yep. Still there. The scab had stuck to the cloth and pulled off, letting it bleed again. Marco really didn't want the blood to soak his pants. Redrifires could track you from a mile away if you had that much blood on you, and- wait. No. he didn't have to think about that anymore. Still, he should probably clean the wound regardless.

Marco stood up and looked back at the toilet. It was filled with clean water, so it would work. He grabbed the tourniquet and washed it in the water before using it to rub any dirt off his leg. He then washed it again and grabbed the roll of toilet paper hanging beside him and put a layer along the gash before wrapping it up again.

Marco pulled his pant leg back down and couldn't help but notice writing on the stall's sides. He briefly considered trying to translate them. He might as well be productive right? Suddenly determined, Marco pulled the notebook out of his backpack and opened to where his name was written down. How much could he decipher with just five letters? He was sure going to find out!

Marco started copying everything that was written down on the walls and then went through and circled all the letters he recognized. Several of the things he copied were just two words with hearts around them.

The other phrases were either too long or had way too many unknown letters in them. While it was a nice thought, Marco wasn't getting anywhere with these anytime soon.

Frustrated, Marco put the pen up against the stall door and started writing in Riradesh, since this is apparently something you do to bathroom walls.

He didn't really have anything in mind. He just wrote about how inefficient written English is, and how sterile and repetitive the structure of the school was, and how stupid Earth's reliance on written language is, and how idiotic and stubborn he was to jump into a decade and a half journey on a whim, and how he always abandoned everyone in blind pursuit, and all the deaths he could have stopped, and oh god. He stopped and looked down at the ground and wiped tears from his eyes. He was starting to go a bad place he'd rather leave behind. He vowed to never let his mind wander to Mirria again.

He didn't know how long he was writing, but he looked back up at the glyph-covered stall door and realized he probably needed to stop. He took a deep breath and put his pen and notebook back into his backpack.

Marco wondered if he could live with himself keeping all of this in his head. Heckapoo had always been a goal to keep him distracted and to stop his mind from wandering. Now that Heckapoo was done with him, what else could he occupy his head with? School? Would that be enough? He briefly considered telling Star about all this, but it wasn't like he didn't put enough on her plate already. Would she even even see him the same way if she knew _everything_ that happened there? He'd rather not think about it.

The bell rang from a speaker above the stall to his right. Maybe Star would be able to find him if he went back out into the hall? He was definitely reconsidering her suggestion of calling out sick. With a heavy breath he opened the stall door and stepped outside, only to be greeted with his reflection on the huge bathroom mirror.

His stomach dropped as he stared directly at his own face. The face from 16 years ago. The childish, immature, little kid (what was he, 14? 13? He'd have to ask Star again). He didn't even need to shave yet.

On the chase, he had always tried to justify his past by getting better, working harder, and becoming someone who could accomplish his goals without collateral damage. Now all of that physical progress was stripped away. Now he was just the culmination of his mistakes.

"Um..." A quiet voice came from the corner. Marco looked over and saw a girl staring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh… peeing?" Marco replied. That was what bathrooms were for, right? It couldn't have been _that_ much different in Heckapoo's dimension, could it?

"I-uh." That seemed to stump her for a second. "That's not what I meant. I mean why are you in the girl's bathroom?"

Marco stared at her for a few seconds before the sledgehammer of realization hit him with the knowledge that there were gendered bathrooms in this dimension. "Oh. Right…"

Marco then decided to deal with this situation the best way he knew how- by running away from it. He zipped past the girl and into the now crowding hallway. Marco wasn't sure if he'd made the right decision by running, but he was sure he couldn't convince that girl that it was some silly mistake without giving himself away. There was only one way to move from here, and that was forward. He just had to find Star, and she could get him out of this place and back to his not-as-unfamiliar home where he didn't have to deal with all these people.

Marco moved along with the masses of students, trying to blend in like he had seven years ago when breaking into Ennio Prison, and then subsequently six years ago when he had to break out. Of course, none of these students were sprouting monstrous deformities, but the feeling was still there.

And just when Marco thought the school couldn't get any more similar to Ennio, he felt the familiar dip of someone reaching into his pocket. He grabbed the arm of the pickpocketer before they'd be able to get away and turned to see it was just some girl in a beanie.

"What do you think you're doing?" Marco asked, staring the girl down. He didn't have anything valuable on him, but the last time he'd let a pickpocketer go without repercussions, it ended a little badly for him. His warning and glare only seemed to make the girl _more_ excited to pickpocket him, though.

"Woah there, Tiger," the girl said. A smile cracked across her face. "This is like, the first time you've ever caught me."

Marco wasn't sure how to respond to that. The girl's demeanor kind of reminded him of Heckapoo's, and he didn't know if he should take comfort in that or not. He then realized the meaning of what she just said. "Wait, how many times have you stolen from me?"

The girl tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Geez, that's a hard one, Marco. How long has it been since kindergarten?"

Ah. Another one of those "childhood friends". Marco wondered who he forgot this time. The girl frowned at Marco's silence and spoke again.

"Seriously, though. Can you let go of my arm? Its starting to hurt."

Marco quickly let go of her, and thankfully she didn't immediately run away. He supposed she was probably an actual friend, although one with kleptomania. "Uh, sorry," he mumbled.

"Marco, dude, are you okay? You look totally zoned out."

Marco glanced around the hallway, and Star was nowhere in sight. She couldn't rescue him now, and it was pathetic that he expected her to. Taking a deep breath, Marco decided to help himself. These were his friends, right? They'd understand if he might have forgotten a few names along the way... right?

That settled it. Marco was going to tell this girl that he forgot who she was, and she was definitely going to help him with it, because apparently she was his friend, and he wasn't going to be awkward about it at all.

"Sooooooo… Who… _are_ … you?" he asked awkwardly, his voice cracking a little in the middle to add to the uncomfortability. Damn puberty.

"Uh, what?" The girl blinked a few times in confusion. Marco honestly couldn't blame her. He took another deep breath and tried repeating himself, this time with more friendliness.

"Who… are… you…" Marco faked a smile and it only seemed to freak the girl out.

"Uh, who are _you_?" She replied. It was a _very_ open-ended question. A list of titles scrolled through his head, but none of them mattered anymore. Here he was just Marco.

"Uh, I'm Marco?" he tried. The bell rang as the last of the students around them shuffled into their classes. Great. Marco had failed to find Star in time, and now he was stuck missing another class. The girl started to sneak away, and Marco looked back at her.

"Uh, I gotta get to class. I'll talk to you, maybe, later?" Oh no. There was no way Marco was going to be left alone with his thoughts for another hour, in another bathroom. And it felt wrong to leave this on such a low note.

"I don't remember who you are," He explained, deadpan. This stopped her in her tracks, and she turned to look at him.

"Really?" she asked.

Marco nodded slowly. "Really." At her incredulous expression, he explained, "I know it doesn't look like it, but I've been away from Earth for sixteen years, and when I finally came back yesterday, I realized that I've completely forgotten everything about my life here. And although I'm ashamed to admit it, I've forgotten a lot of names and faces, and unfortunately yours are one of them. I'm sorry if that hurts you and if you're not mad at me for forgetting, I hope we can make this work..." And here it came. The girl would call the police and Marco would be carried away to an asylum, where he'd have to share a room with someone who thought they could only eat toenails.

Instead, her eyes went wide. "Woah." Then she smiled. "Cool. So you're like, a completely different person, then."

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Marco said, thinking it over. It kinda was like he was a different person, huh. "I mean, I'm still Marco."

"Cool." The girl held her hand out. "I'm Janna. It's nice to meet you, Still Marco."

Marco smiled and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, too, Janna." He finally felt a little normal since he returned to Earth. It was nice to know there were people besides Star he could talk to in this mess of a dimension.

"You know, Marco, if you want, I could help you get back up to speed on things around here," she offered. It sounded like a great idea. Even if he could get a basic idea of where he left off, it'd help tremendously.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Marco said, smiling. Janna looked around the empty hallway.

"We can't do it here though. We'd have to ditch school." She scratched the back of her head like it was some sort of big request. Marco had already been considering it, though. It wasn't like he would be of much use in his classes anyway.

"Sure," he said, and Janna's face was priceless as it shifted from confused to shocked to excited.

"Wow, you really are a different person." She smirked and started walking down the hall, gesturing for him to follow. Marco took a step toward her, and then realized that Star would have no idea where he was, and if she'd go looking for him, her chances of finding him were slim to none if she wasn't even in the same building as him. It wasn't like she was a master hunter who'd been tracking people's locations for sixteen years or anything. Not that Marco was bragging or anything.

"Wait, I don't want Star to worry about me," he said. Granted, she probably already was, considering he'd already missed a class. Janna turned to him and nodded in understanding.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll text her." She pulled a phone out and started tapping at it. Marco briefly looked over her shoulder at the screen before remembering that he couldn't read any of the words lit up on it. He was able to recognize his name peppered across the screen, though, and it felt nice to have at least that luxury.

After a minute or so of texting back and forth, Janna put the phone away and looked at Marco.

"Okay, Star knows." She gave a thumbs up to Marco. "And I told her I'd escort you home tonight."

"Thanks." That was such a relief. "So, where are we going?"


	5. Chapter 5: The Real Marco Diaz

A horrifying screech filled the air as birds flew from the trees, terrified. Marco awoken and two gigantic beady eyes were staring him down. He put his fist into one of them and the creature doubled back in pain. Marco yawned and stretched his back and arms out before looking back at the creature. It was an ostrich-like bird with four legs that stood at almost twice his height. Marco extended his leg and tripped the beast, causing it to fall back and hit its huge head on a rock.

"Morning, Jerry," he said, picking up the large leaves he'd been sleeping on and rolling them up for portability. The monster didn't respond, but instead lied there, unconscious. Marco looked up at the purple sky with tinged red and smiled. "Today's the day."

Marco started his morning the same as ever. He walked into the denser forest to where a waterfall cascaded over a small cliff and took his daily shower. The water was poisoned in a way that anything that drank it would hallucinate for a week or so, so it was avoided by all the dangerous predators of the area. The last thing Marco wanted to deal with was having to fight a giant bear-monster while he was naked.

Next thing he had to do was get some breakfast. After all, it _was_ the most important meal of the day. Marco climbed to the top of the Katato trees where these squirrel-like creatures (Toza had recently told him they were called Merwiffs) guarded the Katato Nuts, or at least they used to. Now they kind of scooted out of the way as Marco crawled his way to his share. He would only take one a day - that was all he needed after all, and he was sure if he tried to take more, he'd have to go through a long fight that he just wasn't in the mood for.

After eating his nut, he proceeded to the sunflower thicket, an area just outside the woods. Sunflowers the size of redwoods twisted and turned around each other as they reached up to touch the clouds. Marco found his way to _his_ flower, one of the sunflowers that he had carved a makeshift ladder into the side of. He climbed the flower to the top and sat atop the pointed seeds, looking out at the view of the forest and the village that laid beyond it. He watched the sun as it reached the right position and then he reopened the hole in the center of the flower. Marco stuck his hand into the sticky nectar inside and then wiped it into his left eye.

It always took a minute or so to work, and it would probably burn for an hour or two, but it was always so satisfying when he saw himself from the perspective of about five feet above him. Atop his flower, he closed his right eye and switched perspectives. The scene of himself on the flower changed to a scene of a sky and then to a tree or a stream, and Marco kept switching until he saw what he was looking for, or rather _who_ he was looking for.

His target strolled through a large clearing, seemingly without a care in the world. It bothered him so much. She _knew_ he was hunting her. She knew he was chasing her down day after day, and yet she just looked up at the sky, as if she was looking down at her watch in bored anticipation. Marco switched to another perspective from higher up and took a better look at where the clearing was. A big smile etched across his face once he realized how close she was, and he closed his left eye and opened his right, cutting his surveillance system off. He'd have to catch her with just one eye open, but he could do it… No, he _would_ do it. He had to.

Marco slid down the flower's stem and landed his feet firmly on the ground. He took only a moment to steady himself and then he ran off toward the clearing. This was going to be the day he caught her. He could feel it.

And then he saw her and stopped. She'd turned around to face him, even though he'd been stealthy. As she looked him in the eyes and smiled wide, he jumped out into the clearing and bolted at her. She didn't seem to care much and just dodged his lunge, before running away at an alarming speed. And Marco chased her.

She ran to the edge of the clearing and into the forest, and no matter what Marco did, she was always about ten feet ahead of him. He threw a rock at her and she caught it seamlessly before running backward through the twisted trees.

"Come on, Human. That all you got?" she teased, before chucking the rock back at Marco and hitting him in the shin. A curse escaped his lips as his leg buckled under him and he fell to the ground. Heckapoo laughed and kept running until she was out of sight, while Marco laid defeated and disillusioned on the forest floor.

After a long, deep breath and a string of angry words, Marco pulled himself back to his feet. His leg almost gave out under him again and he looked down at the now-forming bruise. He found the part that hurt the most and pressed against it. Yeah, it was definitely fractured.

With a dejected sigh, Marco broke a tree branch to use as a walking stick. There was still half the day left, but there was no way he was going to catch Heckapoo with a broken leg.

And so Marco hobbled along back through the forest, each step hurting as much as the last. He stepped on a weak root and his foot fell through, and the pain made him whimper like a dog - like the dog Heckapoo thought he was.

"Can this get any worse?" He asked no one in particular, and then immediately flinched. He expected rain to start falling or a forest fire to start or something, but after a long silent moment, nothing happened. Relieved, Marco pulled his foot out of the hole and froze as he heard an odd sound he hadn't heard in a long time.

Marco looked up and saw a red portal opening up, and for a second he thought he had drank some of the waterfall, but then a Forridorah jumped out and took him out of his thoughts. There was no way the giant two headed cat was a hallucination, and he didn't have enough time to debate it before he was running for his life from the damned thing. Somehow the adrenaline coursing through him made running on his broken leg a little easier than walking on it had been, and that was about the only thing he was thankful for as the beast kept up with his pace.

He had to think fast if he was going to get out of this. He opened his left eye and started sifting through perspectives with it. His right eye stayed on the path ahead as his left looked for any sort of advantage past his normal vision. It made him dizzy and sick to his stomach, but that was better than being eaten alive. Finally his left eye spotted something. A deep hole, just big enough for him. It was probably a minute and a half away from him, and he changed course to go in the right direction. Gripping his walking stick like his life depended on it (which it did), he pencil dove into the ditch. He screamed as his broken leg hit the ground, but he wouldn't let the pain distract him.

The Forridorah lept across the hole, and Marco thrust the branch upward. There was a roar as it pierced the stomach of the beast and tore it open. The cat whimpered as it fell onto its side, adequately slain.

Marco stayed silent as the adrenaline wore off and his leg stung with pain. When he heard it stop breathing, he started climbing up to the top of the hole again, using what was left of the walking stick to help him up. As he reached the forest floor, the red of sunset tinged the edge of the sky.

Marco panicked. He had to make it in time today. He couldn't miss him this time. Marco pulled the walking stick close to him and started limping as fast as he could to the edge of the woods.

It took longer than he'd wanted, but as he saw the light of the caravan at the edge of the horizon he managed to suck up the pain long enough to run across the clearing.

"Rough day, huh?" A familiar voice said as Marco sat down at the counter on the side of the carriage. Toza, the travelling merchant that had basically been keeping Marco alive up to this point, greeted him with a grimace. "The usual?"

Marco slammed a torn up dollar bill onto the counter and groaned. "My leg's pretty much shattered now."

"Sounds like a Tuesday." Toza started looking through a box on the ground and pulled out a red bottle. "Another tree?" He handed the bottle to Marco and took the money.

"A rock, actually," Marco said before opening the bottle and pouring it onto his leg. He hissed in pain as his shin reshaped into something that didn't look like mashed flesh. Toza whistled as he leaned over the counter to look at the injury.

"Boy, you've been at this for almost six months now, and you haven't even caught one of 'em. Don't you think you should just give up and go home?"

"My home isn't exactly up the river, Toza. I'm in this for the long run," Marco said. "Besides, even if I could go home, I could never face Star empty-handed after being away for so long."

"Aren't there like thirty of these things? How are you supposed to get those magic scissors if you can't even catch one?"

"I just have to catch this one," Marco said with a smirk. "This one's the real deal."

"Really. How do'ya figure?" Toza started cleaning some glasses and poured a couple of drinks.

"This one's got the scissors. She used them to sick a Forridorah on me." Marco grabbed one of the glasses and took a sip.

Toza looked at Marco with an eyebrow raised. "And how'd you get out of that one?"

"Ripped its stomach open with a stick."

Toza laughed and Marco found himself joining him. They sat there for a good few minutes chuckling before Toza spoke again.

"You're saying you killed a Forridorah, and you didn't even bring the hide home? Do you know how much those are worth?"

"I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I was trying not to die."

"Understandable." Toza shrugged non-committedly.

They both took sips of their drinks and there was a long silence. Then Marco broke the silence with an aggravated groan.

"I don't get it, Toza! I've mastered this forest! I have the home advantage! Why can't I catch her?" Marco slammed his glass down on the table in utter defeat, and the glass shattered across the counter. Instantly, Marco slid a five dollar bill across the counter. "Sorry."

With a shrug, Toza said, "Listen kid. You're tough and all, but you ain't gonna beat this demigod in a running contest. You're gonna have'ta fight with smarts."

Just as Marco was going to respond, Toza pulled a chest out and put it on the counter. He opened it to reveal a bunch of hunting traps.

"These are a starving adventurer's best friend," Toza said.

"Uh, no offense, but she can fly."

"Yeah, but has she been flying recently?"

Marco furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "No. She's been on the ground pretty consistently for a while now. It's not like she ever needed to escape."

"It's 'cause you've been doin' the same thing over and over. She's underestimatin' you. Take advantage of that. Take her by surprise."

Marco looked up at him. It was a good idea, but... "I don't know if I can afford all those."

"They're not for sale anyway," Toza said with a shrug. "I'm lettin' you borrow them. You just gotta bring em back after you catch her."

"Are you sure?" Marco asked.

"Yeah, I've been usin' these babies since I was younger than you, and they've never failed me. You'll catch her before you can say her name."

"No, I mean, are you sure you want to trust me with them?" Marco corrected. Toza smiled warmly at him.

"Course I am, Marco. I remember back when you first showed up 'ere. You were like some lost puppy trying to hunt down a mountain lion - scared out of your wits and barely surviving day-to-day life. But I've seen you grow into a strong huntin' dog over these past few months, and you just might be able to take that lion down. I've got faith in ya', Marco."

Marco teared up a little at the speech. "Uh, thanks, Toza. That means a lot…"

Toza frowned. "What, you got nothin else to say? You sayin' I mean nothin to your plight?"

Marco stammered for a moment, unable to come up with anything particularly rousing, and Toza laughed.

"I'm just messin' with ya', boy. You been thankin' me every single night for half a year now. It's one of them reasons I know I can trust you." Toza handed the chest of traps to Marco, and smiled fondly.

"Thank you," Marco repeated, a little flustered from the joke.

"Yer welcome. You can really thank me by catching that witch of yours for me. Now go get a good rest. You'll need it for tomorrow."

Marco nodded and smiled at him. "Yeah, I will. 'Night, Toza."

"Night, Kid."

Marco grabbed the chest and carried it with him to the edge of the forest. He looked around until he spotted Jerry. The large stone statue stood gazing at a tree, with its beak pointed at a spot where there must have been some rodent it wanted to eat before the sun set. Marco set up his bed under it and the chest next to him. He'd get a good five hours before the sun rose, and that was plenty of sleep to be on the top of his game. He laid down and closed his eyes and waited.

And waited…

And there was no way he was falling asleep with all this adrenaline running through him again.

Marco sat up and looked at the bird statue. It would wake when the sun rose. Would Heckapoo do the same? Was she asleep right now?

Then it hit Marco. If he was really going to use the traps, he had to catch her this time, or she'd be back to flying and he'd be back to square one. Marco stood up and decided that he could sleep when he caught her. Right now he had to make a foolproof plan.

So Marco went about his morning routine, in the dead of night. He went to the waterfall and washed himself, and another idea hit him. He quickly grabbed his canteen and drank the last of the water in it, before filling it with water from the waterfall. He would have to make sure he didn't drink any accidentally.

Then, Marco went and grabbed a Katato Nut, though the Merwiffs weren't exactly happy that he'd woken them up in the middle of the night for his breakfast. He grabbed an extra one once they went back to sleep and then went to his flower. Staying silent, so as not to startle any nocturnal beasts, he climbed to the top of the flower and took the inner nectar to start his search. If he could find where Heckapoo slept, he could catch her off guard and blow out her flame.

He spent what was probably an hour searching before he saw her sleeping soundly in the branches of a tree. Marco figured out exactly where she was before climbing back down and returning to Jerry, who was "guarding" the traps and his bed.

And then Marco got to work setting the traps up, and it was sunrise by the time he'd finished.

The sun rose, and Heckapoo rose from her sleep the same way Marco supposed she did every morning. She floated down from her tree branch and her feet touched the forest floor with a soft thud.

And then Marco ran at her.

It took a second for Heckapoo to realize what was going on, and but she responded accordingly and began running, slowly gaining speed on him. It was the same situation they were always in, until there was the click and snap of a bear trap grasping onto Heckapoo's leg. She yelped in surprise, and before she could pull the trap off, Marco chucked the water from his canteen at her face.

Heckapoo instinctively covered her flame from the splash. "Come on, I know you can do better than that," she teased, pulling the bear trap off her leg before Marco could actually get a hand on her. He knew she was on the run for real this time, though, because she lifted up into the air to get more distance from him. But Marco kept chase, and she was almost out of sight when his plan came to fruition.

Heckapoo crashed into the ground with a confused yell, and it only took seconds for Marco to catch up to her. He couldn't help smiling as he saw her coughing and looking around blindly.

"What's going on?" She asked, looking over Marco's shoulder at whatever her subconscious was telling her was there.

"Hallucinogenic water," Marco explained. Once Heckapoo realized what he meant, she immediately stopped struggling, accepting her defeat.

"Psh. Good job. One down and a bunch to go, huh," Heckapoo said with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" asked Marco, "If I blow out the flame of the real one, that's as good as winning right?" This one had to be the real Heckapoo. Why else would she have scissors?

"Naw, man. I'm just one of the clones."

"But you had the scissors! You have to be the real one!"

"I don't have any scissors, and I'm pretty sure I would know if I wasn't a clone," Heckapoo said mockingly. All of a sudden that immense amount of accomplishment Marco had been feeling for the last minute or so vanished. Why did the real Heckapoo pay him a visit yesterday? Just to mock him? Was she still in this forest? Panicking, Marco quickly wrapped the clone in a glowing green net.

"What is this?" she asked, annoyed.

"Anti-magic net," Marco replied, cockily. "I'm gonna ask you questions, and I want answers."

"What are you gonna do, torture me? Cause just so you know, that bear trap didn't even break skin. It takes a lot to hurt me," Heckapoo said.

"No! I'm not going to torture you!" Marco said incredulously. "I-I just want to know where the real Heckapoo is."

"You think I keep tabs on her? She just told us clones to run around in this dimension and do whatever. And if we ever run into you, we have to give you a hard time."

"Wait, so you don't have a system or anything? No monthly meetings?" said Marco.

"Ugh, you know what, listening to you is pretty good torture actually. Can you just blow out my flame?"

"But I-" Marco wanted to get a few words in, but he was immediately interrupted.

"Just face it, Earth Boy, you may have caught me, but it took you six months. Do you think this is going to get any easier? You managed to catch me off guard, but it'll take even longer to get the other clones to slip up now that they know you've beaten me, and at that rate, you won't be able to catch even half of us in your tiny human lifeti-"

Marco cut off her annoying speech with a quick breath to her flame. The clone disappeared and Marco was left by himself with an odd amalgam of excitement and dread. What if she was right? It had taken him such a long time to find and to catch even one clone, how was he going to get the rest without it taking years upon years upon years?

He gathered up the traps and brought them back to Toza's caravan, worrying the whole way there. Still, when he saw Toza's expectant face, a big smile crept onto his own.

"So?" Toza asked.

"One down, a bunch to go," Marco said happily. "I wish I knew where to start on the next ones, though."

"'Bout three towns over, there's one of 'em leading a guild," Toza said offhandedly while he put the chest of traps away. That threw Marco off.

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, please. Do you think I been sittin' here watching you go head over heels huintin' her and haven't been keepin' an ear out for rumors? What kind of friend do you think I am?"

"I-uh, thanks, Toza."

"No problem. Got word of about three others down in Mirria once you're done with that one, too. You might wanna learn some Riradesh, first, though. Yer gunna need it to get into the guild. She'll be untouchable unless ye get in their ranks"

"Oh. Probably, yeah." It hit Marco suddenly that he'd only really interacted with the forest and Toza since he's arrived in this dimension. There were whole societies that he'd have to integrate himself into to stay alive and to catch Heckapoo clones. He was in for a gigantic journey, and he probably wouldn't have Toza with him to fix his mess ups every step of the way. He yawned. Oh, right. He hadn't slept the night before, had he?

"You sure some pair of scissors is worth all this trouble?" Toza said, filling some glasses for them to drink.

Marco nodded. "They belong to my best friend. It's my fault they got taken away, and I'm going to get them back for her."

"Well, then we'd better get you suited up to join that guild of hers. You sure aren't gonna get in wearin' that dirty red hood o' yours. Now, I've got some extra clothes and armor you could-"

Marco didn't hear the rest of whatever Toza said. He'd passed out with his head on the counter.

* * *

"And then I woke up the next morning, and Toza-"

"That's enough. I get it. I don't need the play-by-play of your entire lifetime," Janna said, interrupting him.

Marco stuttered a bit and suddenly realized how long he'd been talking. "Oh, uh… sorry."

The two teenagers had been sitting in a park for the last few hours. Janna had kept pestering him on what living in another dimension for sixteen years felt like, so Marco decided to just sit her down and explain how it all started.

"Naw, dude. It was a really cool story. I just thought you were done, and then you kept going. Going to sleep seemed like a good place to stop, ya know?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess." Marco scratched the back of his head awkwardly. His throat was really dry.

"And I also have some questions," Janna said. "There's some major plot holes."

"Oh okay. Wait, what?" Marco tried to wrap his head around what she'd said. "That really happened, Janna! There aren't any plot holes!"

"Oh yeah, well how did you pay for all those magic healing potion things? I'm assuming you didn't have any sources of cash at the time."

"Six hundred and fifty bucks will last you awhile, especially when you're in a dimension where Earth money is worth more." He shrugged to punctuate his point.

"Alright. Fair point," Janna conceded."So what was with the flower and the stuff you put in your eye? What the heck was that?"

"It's, uh, a nectar that connects everything that's consumed it. I found out that if I put it in my eye, I could just share vision with all the things that ate the nectar instead, so all the bugs and rodents and stuff became a kind of security system. I was able to locate Heckapoo in that giant forest because I was able to look through the animals that were near her."

"Okay. Makes enough sense, I guess. So then what was the weird ostrich monster from the beginning?"

"Oh, Jerry? He's an Osacontt. They're basically these big predatorial birds that turn to stone when the sun sets and go back to normal at sunrise. I used him as an alarm clock, cause he would always make this loud screech when he 'woke up', before he'd try to eat me."

Janna just stared at him. It bugged Marco out a little.

"What is it?"

"So you're saying you slept under this terrifying creature that would try to kill you in the morning _every night_?" Before Marco could form an answer, Janna said, "That's really badass, Marco. It's like staring death in the face."

"I, uh… Thanks?" Marco said, a little flustered.

Janna sat up straighter and posed herself like she was going to say something really important and wise. "Now it's my turn to tell a story. It's time for you to hear about the _real_ Marco Diaz."

Marco raised an eyebrow at her. "Okay?"

"So every morning, Marco Diaz wakes up and goes running around the neighborhood in a dog costume. Then he puts on puppet shows in the Elementary School's playground that are _really_ boring."

"...Go on," said Marco. Ah yes, it was all coming back now.

"Marco never uses his hands to eat. His philosophy is 'eat first, think later'. On that note, he doesn't use his tongue when he eats, but he _does_ use it to lick random objects at the strike of each hour!"

Marco laughed. "Where are you coming up with this stuff?"

"I'm telling you. This is what you used to do all the time!" Janna shrugged. "If you wanna fit in as yourself again, you're gonna have to pick up old Marco's habits."

"I'm _pretty_ sure that's a load of crap."

Janna chuckled. "Yeah, it definitely is. The _real_ real Marco is Marco Ubaldo Diaz, born on November 28th with the social security number-"

"Wait, how do _you_ know all this information?" Marco asked.

"Oh, yeah. I didn't tell you? I have all your personal info. Passwords, grades, signatures, you name it," she said.

Marco smiled hopefully. "Do you have my computer password?"

"Yeah, I've got every- oh." It apparently hit Janna that he actually didn't know all his passwords. "You forgot?"

"Yeah. I don't even remember how to read."

"Wow. That's rough. I can get together all your info and give it to you later, if you want..."

"Oh, wow. That'd be really cool," Marco said. He wouldn't be able to read it at first, but at least he'd have access to it all.

"Yeah, no prob," Janna said with a smile. A phone rang and Janna took it out of her pocket. She started typing on the screen and suddenly Marco was left in the dark again. After what sounded like 4 or 5 texts being sent, Janna put the phone back into her pocket.

"Who was that?" Marco asked, wondering if maybe Janna had been talking to someone he _should_ remember but didn't.

"Star. She wants me to walk you home now. Something about the end of the world, and also dinner," she said offhandedly. Janna stood up and stretched.

"Oh. Okay." Marco followed suit and soon they were walking down a road towards his house. Marco breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the house. At least he could be sure he wouldn't have to deal with all these "Old Marco" things once he got home. It would just be him and Star hanging out for the night. Maybe they could even get some writing and learning done.

Maybe it would all work out...


	6. Chapter 6: Reunion

"I still don't get it…" Marco said. He and Janna we're only a minute or so away from his front yard. Marco had been planning to thank Janna for everything before setting her loose, but something was still bothering him.

"What's wrong?" Janna asked. "Don't tell me you forgot what your own house looks like."

"No, it's not that. It's just… I still for the life of me can't remember anything about you. I mean… yeah, I can sort or picture you here and there with vague memories of school and Star, but have we ever been close friends?"

Janna responded with an annoyed sigh and said "Listen, Marco. The human brain is capable of many things, but it has a limit. You've been away for a long time in a dangerous fantasy world where your priorities drastically changed. I doubt one of them was maintaining the memories of our long walks on the beach and candle-lit dinners. You were focused on survival; exhausting your brain and body to it's limit just to live another day. Along the way you probably made new friends that became more important to you than some random what's-her-face. And after all that hardship and reprogramming of your body and psyche, you find yourself thrown into a new environment _again_ , where your current skill-set, while hot, is irrelevant. And it may only be a matter of time before you start forgetting friends from that world, like Toza. It's completely justified that you forgot a lot of people from Earth after 16 years, and stressing about it is not only counterproductive, but really stupid. So for my sake and yours Marco, don't worry about it."

Marco was shocked that a speech like that came from Janna. After a moment of silence he finally spoke up.

"Umm… yeah. I guess when you put it that way, what you meant to me in the past isn't that important. What matters is that you're a really cool person now." Janna turned her head away from Marco. He could have sworn he saw something on her face that resembled a blush.

"Haha, you know what? I think I know why you have trouble remembering me." Janna said.

"And why's that?" Marco asked.

"They're all repressed memories! The name-calling, the stealing, the pranks. How else could you explain forgetting all that besides some internal defense mechanism at work. I always thought the bicycle incident from 5th grade would be etched into your mind forever!"

"Wait a minute." Marco stopped so he could think. "In 5th grade? That's when I got a new bike... and then you… Wait! Janna! That was you!?"

"Oh my God, you actually remember?"

"Of course I do! My head was stuck in it's tire for 6 hours!"

Janna started laughing uncontrollably. "Ok, ok. But what about that one field trip to the petting zoo? You went up to the llamas and I…"

"That too!" Marco yelled. "I can't believe you did that to me. I can't believe I forgot for so long. Oh wait, I just remembered something else. That birthday party where you replaced the candles on my cake with firecrackers? Didn't my hair catch on fire?" Janna fell to the ground laughing hysterically.

"You're going to make me wet myself! Stop it!"

Marco was fuming. "It's not funny! All that stuff really messed me up! I...I…"

Marco joined in on the laughter. Their voices could be heard throughout the neighborhood. Star opened the front door and saw the two on the ground chuckling.

"What are you guys doing? We've been waiting for you," Star said.

Star's question went mostly ignored as it took a few more seconds for either of them to regain their composure. Marco was the first to get back on his feet. After wiping a tear from his eye, he headed towards Janna.

Despite trying his best, there was no way he could hold any sort of grudge against Janna. Even though she had acted as a bully for most of his life, Marco couldn't help but look back at those events with warm nostalgia. He was still technically an adult, and, like Janna suggested, had better things than some baggage from his childhood to worry about. Janna could have kicked him while he was down at any point today, and the fact that she decided to help him instead said more about her than any past traumatic experience could.

"Man, I was such a dork back then," Marco said, extending his hand.

"Yeah, but I thought you were cool," Janna said. She grabbed Marco's hand and he lifted her back onto her feet. Marco then turned to Star.

"Sorry, Star. Janna just told me this really funny joke, and I guess I was the punchline?" Star stood there, confused.

"Janna, I hope you weren't trying to mess with poor Marco's head. He's very… _delicate_ right now."

"Pfft." Janna was trying her best not to start laughing again. Marco wished Star had used a better word to describe him. He then realized what Star was trying avoid revealing.

"It's ok Star. I told Janna everything. You don't need to beat around the bush in front of her," Marco said.

"Oh, really? That's great!" Star breathed a sigh of relief. Marco knew she didn't like keeping secrets from her friends. "Cause I kinda maybe sorta told a few more people about what happened."

"Wait, what?" Marco said, trying to not freak out. The last thing he wanted was everyone knowing so soon.

"It's okay. They're totally okay with it," Star said, holding her arms out in defense.

"Who did you tell?" Marco asked. Star led them into the house.

"Ferguson and Alfonso," she said. Marco then saw the two of them sitting on the couch. Alfonso waved meekly at him.

"Hey, Marco. Sorry about your crippling sense of displacement," he said, like he was lamenting a stubbed toe. Marco smiled. That pretty much hit the nail on the head.

"Thanks, Alfonso. Sorry about your sense of abandonment," Marco said, "I'm sure we didn't mean to ignore you."

"It's okay. We're used to it," Ferguson chimed in, "Besides, we're gonna make up all the lost time with this awesome sleepover!"

What? "Sleepover?" Marco questioned out loud. He yawned at his own mention of sleep. When had he last slept, anyway?

"Yeah!" Star said, "I invited some friends over so we could all hang out and you could get to know everybody again!"

"But aren't we grounded?" Marco asked.

"And it's a school night," Alfonso added. Oh, right. That too.

"Oh, psssh," Star said, "They're totally okay with people coming over _here._ They just don't want us going to different dimensions."

"Yeah. They even left for the night," Ferguson said, "They said something about not wanting to ruin the fun?"

Yeah, that sounded like them.

"Now we just have to wait for one more person," Star said, and as if on queue, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!"

Star skipped over to the door and opened it. A girl with blonde and blue hair skateboarded in and it took no time at all for Marco to recognize her.

"Jackie Lynn Thomas?" he asked. What was she doing here? He remembered being infatuated with her as a child, but he also remembered never getting a chance to tell her how he felt.

"Sup, Marco. What's with the formal name-drop?" She got off her skateboard and placed it against the wall.

"I, uh." Nothing was coming to his brain. What was going on?

"Hey, Jackie!" Janna said, hopefully saving Marco from this terrible interaction.

"Hey, Janna. Star, you said you were gonna tell me something when I got here, right?" Ok, so she _didn't_ know yet?

"Yeah..." Star said nervously.

"Cool, can we get some food first, though?" Janna said from the couch she was now laying across.

"Yeah, I'm starving. Marco should order Emilio's," Jackie Lynn Thomas said, "You've got the number memorized, right?"

Oh god, Marco didn't even know where to start on those statements. So, instead, he let out a little squeak. Luckily everyone else spoke up in his stead.

"That's a bad idea."

"We don't need to eat."

"I'll just order it."

"Emilio's blocked our house phone."

Jackie Lynn Thomas just stared at everyone awkwardly. "Uh. Ok?"

"Like I said, I'll just order it," Janna said, and then proceeded to dial up whatever Emilio's was. Everyone kind of sat in awkward silence while she talked on the phone. "I'd like to order two pizzas. Yeah. Yeah. Can you deliver them in front of the Diaz's house? Oh. No. We're not his friends. We're just going to throw slices at his house. Alright, cool." When she hung up, she looked over at them like nothing was wrong. "Thirty minutes."

"Cool," Ferguson said.

And then there was silence. This felt like some kind of awkward high school reunion, except Marco was the only person who aged.

"So, what's going on?" Jackie Lynn Thomas asked.

She was staring at Marco, expecting some sort of explanation probably, but he couldn't get his voice to work. He quickly glanced at the other people in the room, and they were all watching them.

There was apparently an unsaid consensus in the last minute or so that Marco was best suited to tell his own story, which, while kind of true, left him in a weird position, and he was also expected to know how to break the news to her that he was a broken shell of a man with no memories of their relationship.

"Uh, I'm going to the bathroom…" Jackie said. Once again, everyone except Marco replied.

"Good idea."

"Gotta make room for the pizza."

"Take your time."

"Make sure you put the seat down."

Jackie looked at them and then at Marco specifically before walking up the stairs to the bathroom.

"What was _that_?" Janna asked.

"What was I supposed to say? You guys could have broke the ice at any point." Marco said in defense.

"Well, we didn't know how much you wanted to tell her," Ferguson said.

" _I_ don't even know how much I should tell her," Marco said. "When did we even become friends?"

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Oh no," Star said.

"Geez, this might be a lot worse than it looks," Janna said.

There was another knock at the door.

"Oh no," Star repeated.

The door opened and a demon walked in, holding his hands out in front of him in surrender. "Okay, Star, I know what you're going to say-"

"I told you not to come!" Star interrupted.

"-but I brought a really fun game that I think everyone will like."

"You always do this!" Star groaned in frustration.

"I know you didn't mean to send me that group text, but I think I can really contribute to the sleepover. I swear, I only have Marco's best interests in mind." The demon gestured to Marco and blinked a few times. "Wow, what happened to you? You look like your soul was thrown into a meat grinder," he said, as if talking about a bad haircut.

"Uh," Marco so eloquently said. He vaguely remembered the demon. A name wasn't coming to him, but obviously he made _some_ sort of impression. And while the memory was tinged with annoyance, Marco could tell that the demon actually meant well.

"Tom, you can't just say that!" Star grabbed the demon by the arm and started pulling him back to the door. "You're going home."

Oh, right. His name was Tom. "Actually, can he stay?" Marco asked. It stopped both of them in their tracks.

"What? Why?" They both said in sync.

"I wanna see what game he has," Marco half-lied. On one hand, it'd be great if they could all play a game and he could avoid talking to Jackie Lynn Thomas, but he also felt a little bad for Tom.

"Okay, but only because Marco's okay with it." Star let go of Tom's arm and he pumped his fist in the air triumphantly.

"Yes! I won't let you down," he said, and Marco realized they might have been neglecting more than just Ferguson and Alfonso.

"So, are you guys going to introduce us or what?" Ferguson said from behind them. Marco had forgotten they were there for a moment. Tom walked over to them.

"I'm Tom," he said, holding his hand out to shake with Ferguson. Ferguson high fived his hand instead. Tom looked somewhere between confused and personally attacked.

"I'm Ferguson," he said, "I like your crazy eyes."

"Uh, thanks?" Tom said. Alfonso shook his hand while he was still trying to figure out how to respond.

"My name's Alfonso. Please don't kill me," Alfonso said casually.

"I'll consider it," Tom replied. Star glared at him.

"Tom!" she yelled.

"What? It was a joke!" he explained.

"What's happening?" Jackie Lynn Thomas said from the top of the stairs. Everyone turned to face her.

"Star's crazy monster friend is threatening people's lives," Janna said without looking away from her phone.

"No I'm not. And who are you supposed to be?" Tom asked her. Janna held a hand out without looking up once.

"Janna. Nice to meet you."

Tom shook her hand and she went back to whatever she was doing on her phone. He then turned his attention back to Jackie Lynn Thomas.

"I'm Star's friend Tom," he introduced himself with another handshake. "And I'm a _demon_ , not a monster. They're totally different."

"Jackie. And I'm a human," Jackie Lynn Thomas introduced herself, and after their handshake ended, she snuck a look at Marco.

"Cool! So now that we're all introduced, who wants to play a game?" Tom said, completely missing the tension in the room.

Everyone chimed in with "me"s and "heck yeah"s and Marco barely squeaked an answer under the pressure of her gaze.

"Alright!" Tom excitedly walked over to wall and started drawing a summoning circle on the wallpaper.

"What are you doing?" Alfonso asked, but Tom had finished already, and as he threw a pile of ashes from his pocket at the center of the circle, a wooden chest appeared on the ground in front of it.

"Couldn't you have just brought the box?" Janna said with a smirk.

"It's too heavy. I'm not carrying this thing around!" Tom said. He brought the chest over to the coffee table and put it down there. He opened the chest up and pulled out a bunch of pins and a wooden mask.

"Is this it?" Jackie Lynn Thomas asked, unimpressed. "Why does it say 'for ages 100 and up' on it?"

"Oh, that's just a friendly suggestion," Tom said.

"It also says 'may result in loss of loved ones'," Star said, eyeballing him.

"That's just a friendly warning."

"Okay. So how does it work?" Alfonso asked.

"One of us wears the mask, and the rest of us have to get the mask off them," Tom explained. "It's called Mask Tag."

"Sounds boring," Janna said. Marco yawned in agreement. It sounded way too easy.

"The catch is that the mask harbors a twisted demon who will take over your body over and give you supernatural powers."

"Oh! I want to be the demon!" Ferguson cut in. Everyone looked over at him.

"Okay, that settles that," Tom said happily. "My servants and I always have to pick straws."

"Your servants?" Jackie Lynn Thomas asked.

"Yeah. We've played this a million times."

"Haven't you played it with your friends?" Marco asked.

"Yeah, that's what we're doing _now._ "

Oh. Poor guy.

"So what about these pin things?" Star asked.

"They're broaches. If the demon touches your broach, then you're out," Tom said. Everyone grabbed a broach other than Ferguson. "Now we just need to decide teams. Usually the person playing the demon chooses."

"Awesome!" Ferguson said, and then started looking thoughtfully at everyone standing at the table.

"The best way to go is to carefully decide and make evenly balanced teams so that they-"

Ferguson started saying 'eenie-meenie-minee-moe' and pointing to people.

"...or not."

"The final teams are... Marco, Tom, and Jackie are on team one," Ferguson said, "Janna, Star, and Alfonso are on team two."

The broaches suddenly changed color so that Marco, Jackie Lynn Thomas, and Tom had red broaches and Star, Janna, and Alfonso had green broaches. Of course Ferguson would stick Marco on a team with the only two people in the room who didn't know about his problem.

"Okay, one last thing. All the damage and stuff will be undone once the mask is taken off, so feel free to go all out." Tom explained.

"What happens if we don't win?" Star asked.

"Let's get started!" Tom said, completely dodging the question.

Ferguson excitedly took the mask and put it to his face, where it morphed around his head, and there was a muffled screaming for a moment before it cut off and was replaced with a demonic, echo-y voice.

" **It's time to play, mortals and... Tom,** " it said. Tom looked over at Star confidently.

"Watch how a pro gets it done," he said, smiling cockily as the demon appeared in front of him and pressed its hand on his chest, where his broach was pinned.

Tom's eyes went wide and his smile fell as he disappeared in a flash. His red broach fell to the ground with a little thud, and the demon inside Ferguson cackled as large batlike wings grew from its back. All of this occurred in about 5 seconds.

Marco was too tired for this crap.


	7. Chapter 7: Game Night

The five stood in horror as they mentally tried to come up with an explanation for what happened to Tom. He had said that if their broaches got touched by the demon, they would be 'out,' but now they were unsure what that meant. Tom had disappeared without a trace.

Meanwhile, the possessed Ferguson was ignoring the remaining players of the game. He was adjusting to his newly acquired wings and was flapping them up and down, knocking down a few framed pictures and decorations along the way.

He then started gazing at his surroundings. While he was wearing a mask, Marco could still tell Ferguson had a look of confusion on his face. Tom mentioned only playing Mask Tag with his servants up to this point. This was an entirely new environment for the demon, very unlike the hellish landscapes he was probably used to. Despite this, Marco didn't feel like he had a home advantage. Ferguson, er, the demon, began to speak again with his chilling voice.

" **Tell me, little hatchlings, where are we? This is not Prince Tom's domain.** " Marco would've preferred no one answer the demon, leaving him in a state of confusion, but then Jackie Lynn Thomas spoke.

"What on Earth is going on? How did Ferguson grow wings like that?"

" **Ah, I see. The mud dimension known as Earth. To think he'd be foolish enough to take me here. This is a very ideal opportunity."**

Star moved in front of the demon, pointing her wand at him. She was clearly scared, but she made sure that everyone else was behind her.

"W-what did you do to Tom? Where did he go?" Star asked.

" **Did he not explain the rules to you? Once I come into contact with your broach, you will disappear till the game is over. Unfortunately for Prince Tom, I intend to keep this game going forever. I was to serve the rest of my sentence with my soul trapped in this mask, but I am content being free with this body. If you want to continue existing on this plane, I suggest-"**

"Ugh, just shut up already!" Janna said. "Come on, guys, let's bum rush him!" Star, Jackie, and Alfonso nodded.

No. That was a horrible idea. Even if it was just Ferguson, he now had the strength and powers of a demon. They had to actually use a strategy and-

Everyone other than Marco ran at the demon. They were immediately knocked back by a single swipe of his wing.

Out of the the four of them, Star was the only one to get back up. Gritting her teeth, she jumped in front of the demon and shouted "Narwhal Blast!"

If there was one thing Marco still remembered from his time with Star, it was her signature attack. A horned whale popped out of the wand and attempted to impale Ferguson, only for it to be grabbed by the horn, and swung back at Star like club.

She was thrown onto the living room couch and it snapped in half. The demon cackled.

" **I see. You must be the daughter of Queen Moon of Mewni. I thought I smelled royalty on you. I cannot allow you to stay either.** "

Star!

Marco ran at the demon. He was distracted. Now was the only time. As he came closer, he saw Janna jump up and smash the back of the demon's head with a lamp. He felt a tinge of pride that his friends had _some_ sort of strategy in their heads.

"You don't mess with my girl!" Janna said. The demon groaned and Alfonso tackled him to the ground.

Marco was almost there. God why was his body so slow?

"Ferguson, snap out of it, Buddy!" Alfonso said, wrestling with the demon to get a hand on the mask. "We're friends, remember?"

The demon effortlessly won the struggle of arms and reached for Alfonso's broach.

"Winterstorm Hyperblow!" Star shouted. A blast of freezing air whipped past Marco and hit the demon's arm. A block of ice formed around it that prevented him from actually touching Alfonso's broach. Marco had to strike now. He aimed a fist at the mask.

The demon swung its arm around and smashed it into Marco, shattering the ice around it in the process. The impact bended Marco's arm inward hard enough that there was a sickening crack.

Marco fell to the ground and heard the demon scream. He looked over and saw Alfonso sinking his teeth into the demon's other arm - a last desperate attempt to help before the demon touched his broach and he was gone.

The demon cackled again as his nails changed into long, razor-sharp claws. Marco now knew how this game worked.

"Guys! He gets stronger with every victim!" Marco shouted to everyone else. The demon turned to him and raised a claw to strike. Marco wouldn't be able to escape fast enough, and he was in too much pain to think straight. Why did his body have to be so flimsy?

The demon took a step forward to strike, and immediately fell backwards onto his back. Marco felt a skateboard hit his side and smiled when he realized what had happened. He crawled onto the skateboard and kicked the ground as hard as he could.

When he looked behind him, Star was on top of the demon, shooting fire from her wand at his face. The demon covered the mask with its new claws and deflected all the magic thrown at him. _Great_.

The demon pushed his claws out at Star, but Janna ran by and pulled her out of the way seconds before she was ripped to shreds. Not even Star's magic could be counted on now. This wasn't going to work.

"Everyone, scatter! We need to come up with a plan!" Marco yelled. The demon was just slowly picking them off at this point.

"Disciplinary Timeout Beam!" Star yelled as magical chains bound the demon's ankles to his spot, though they wouldn't last long.

Marco ran up the stairs. A tactical retreat was needed in order to really win this. He ran into a room in the hallway and noted that Jackie was the only person to follow him. _Perfect_.

He closed the door once the two were inside, Marco took a moment to catch his breath. Wow, he was _really_ tired all of the sudden. He then remembered that the last time he'd slept, he still had abs.

"Marco, are you okay?" Jackie asked, most likely referring to his broken arm.

"Yeah. I'm fine," he lied. It hurt pretty bad, but he didn't have time to worry about it. He rubbed his eyes and then realized that they must have been in his parent's room. Well, no time to lose. Marco started rummaging through the room. He checked under the bed and in the drawers. Nothing useful.

"Are you looking for a place to hide?" Jackie asked.

"No. I'm looking for weapons," Marco replied, and smiled when he found a bag of metal rods with weights on the ends. Earth weaponry was a lot stranger than he remembered.

"You think golf clubs are going to work on that thing?"

What was golf?

"They'll work better than fists," he said with a shrug, pulling two out and then throwing the bag over his shoulder. "Thanks for saving me back there, by the way. With the skateboard." If the demon hadn't slipped on it, Marco would be dead.

Jackie smiled. "Yeah, I wasn't sure it was going to work. I didn't think it could support Ferguson's weight."

Marco chuckled and handed her a golf club before going back to searching. There might be something else they could use in the room.

"Can I ask you something?" Jackie asked.

"Uh, sure," Marco said, opening up one of the side drawers. His scissors were in there.

"Did you want to play this dangerous game just so you could avoid talking to me?"

Marco stopped what he was doing. "Uh…"

"Marco, what are you hiding from me?" she asked.

"Is this... _really_ the best time to have this conversation?" It was like she'd forgotten they were being hunted down.

"Now is the _only_ time to have this conversation," Jackie said. "When this is over, you're just going to go back to being quiet and hiding behind your friends."

"That's not true…"

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I know we haven't really seen each other since that last date, but I didn't think it was because you were straight up avoiding me."

"Um... date?" Holy shit. They dated? How did he _not_ remember actually getting the girl he'd been pining for his whole life?

"After the sleepover, you said you wanted to get to know me better. Now that you have, are you starting to regret it? Did you realize I'm not the type of girl you're looking for?" Jackie asked. "If that's the case, just tell me. I'm not going to wait on you forever."

Sleepover? Marco began trying to wrack his brain for some sort of memories of the relationship they apparently had. Nothing was coming up though.

"Jackie, a lot has happened to me recently. I'm not really sure what's going on between us, but it really has to wait."

She sighed. "Yeah, I don't know what's going on between us either. That's why I'm asking."

Marco couldn't tell her about those sixteen years. Not like this. "I can't give you an answer."

"Why are you so indecisive? What are you afraid of?"

"It's... complicated," Marco said.

"Well, is this complicated?" Jackie asked before grabbing him by the hoodie and kissing him.

Marco grabbed her hands and melted into the kiss.

Oh god, was he actually enjoying kissing a teenager? He felt like a creep, but he couldn't convince his body to stop the kiss either.

As she pulled away, he shivered in disgust at himself.

"So?" Jackie said, with a confident smile.

"Yup, still complicated," he squeaked.

"Ugh, you're so unbearable!" Jackie said with a groan. She sat down on the bed in aggravation.

Marco took a deep breath. There was no reason that Jackie had to suffer because of his own problems. He sat on the bed beside her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Look, I'm sorry, Jackie. I promise I'll tell you everything after we finish this stupid game, okay?"

Jackie nodded and sighed. "You're right. This wasn't a good time to talk about this. We need to put this behind us for now and help Star and Janna. But you're telling me _everything_ once we get the chance." Marco couldn't agree more. As much as he'd like to patch things up now, everyone was still in danger and it would have to wait. Jackie continued, "So, you said we need a strategy?"

"Yeah," Marco said. "The demon's well aware that mask is his lifeline. He's been extremely careful not to let us anywhere near it. Star had the right idea of trying to burn the mask with magic, but his claws can be used as a shield, in addition to extending his reach."

"And he grows more stuff every time he catches one of us, right?"

"Exactly. While we decrease in numbers, he only gets more powerful. Brute force isn't going to be enough. We'll have to do something he doesn't expect to throw him off. He's probably too focused on Star's magic to consider you, me, or Janna a serious threat."

"So, one of us is going to get the mask while Star distracts him?"

"Right. I think I have an idea, but you'll need to follow my plan _exactly_." Marco got off the bed and grabbed the scissors out of the table drawer.

He opened the scissors and torn a portal into the air. Jackie's eyes widened as a blue glow illuminated the room.

Marco was going back to where it all started.

"I'll be back in less than a second."


	8. Chapter 8: Game Over

"Did they get it?" Marco asked, emptying all the unneeded things from the golf bag. They needed to hurry. The demon was probably out of his shackles by now.

"Yeah, they understood the plan," Jackie replied, putting her phone away. "By the way, why couldn't you have just texted them? Did you lose your phone or something?"

"It's… complicated," he said, handing Jackie the bag. She slung it over her shoulders and then grabbed Marco's scissors from the bed.

"What isn't?" she said. Marco grabbed a single golf club and readied himself.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Jackie paused for a moment.

"Hey, Marco?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm still mad you, but… please be careful."

"Heh, you too. Just remember, the portals go both ways. Make sure they don't linger."

"Okay." Jackie put the scissors in her pocket and then pulled a cup up from the ground.

"So, I just rub this yellow goop on my eye and I'll be able to see everything you see?"

"Yeah, it's a magic nectar. This way you'll be able to know where to place the portals. Your eye will sting a bit at first, but it's better to hurt than to be dead," Marco said. "When you see the living room, start. Janna should be here before it gets to that point, though. And don't overthink the dimensional scissors. Just think about where you want it to go and cut into the air."

Marco just realized what a giant info dump he just gave her. Perhaps he needed to go over it one more time...

Jackie simply nodded and took a deep breath. "Alright, let's go." She stuck her hand deep into the cup and scooped some nectar out. Marco smiled reassuringly at her and then left the room.

He ran to the edge of the stairs, and saw Star shooting spell after spell at the demon. Once Janna saw Marco, she ran up past him to his parents room. Marco snuck down as quietly as he could, and the demon kept his attention focused on Star as she threw magic at him relentlessly. Marco waved his arms at Star and gave her the signal.

"Ha! Is that all you got?" Star said mockingly.

" **Strange thing to say when you haven't even touched me,** " the demon said.

Marco hid behind some furniture and kept his eyes trained on the demon.

Any second now…

" **It looks like your friends have abandoned you. They must have realized there is no hope in stopping me.** "

Star smiled. "That's what you think."

Another pang of exhaustion hit Marco and he squeezed his broken arm to wake himself up. Ugh. It just crossed Marco's mind that he could have used the time flow of Heckapoo's dimension to heal his arm and get some sleep. He felt like an idiot, but he was still getting used to the novelty of owning those scissors to begin with. Too late now, though. He had to keep his attention on the demon. What was taking them so long?

Star was trying her best to hold her own. She was losing stamina quickly and getting frustrated. Her powerful looking pink beams were turning into a weaker green variant.

"Stop. Dodging. My. Stupid. Spells." Star said in between each blast.

A portal finally opened up right behind the demon's head and a golf club smashed down from the portal, narrowly missing him in the process.

The sound of the portal startled the demon and he turned around, but it had already disappeared. Marco smiled.

"Rainbow Fist Punch!" Star's spell struck the demon while it was facing away from her. "What's wrong? Getting delusional? There's nothing over there!" Star said. The demon growled and continued slashing at her.

Another portal opened and this time the golf club successfully connected with the back of his head. Yes! This was going to work!

The demon turned back and forth between Star and the portals as they took turns hitting him with all they had.

Now they just had to trip him up.

Marco pointed down at the demon's ankles, and instantly another portal opened up near where he'd pointed. The golf club swung and made contact with the demon's legs, causing him to fall down onto his back.

Marco grinned. It was working. They were winning! Star took a step forward.

"Megaton Heatstroke!"

Flames emitted from the wand, but the demon thrust his claws forward, just like last time, and negated the spell. Exactly as Marco expected. He pointed at the wooden mask, and a portal appeared just above it. A golf club came out and crashed against the mask, bending the club's shaft in the process. The sound it made was music to Marco's ears.

The demon screamed and the building almost shook from the volume. Marco saw that the mask only had a crack in it. It wasn't over yet.

Star jumped back to a safe distance and started blasting spells at the demon again. He roared and charged at her. Marco frowned. He seemed too smart to resort to blindly attacking…

A portal opened behind the demon and he immediatly whipped around to face it. As the golf club swung down, he grabbed it and pulled.

No no no!

Janna came tumbling out of the portal, still attached to the golf club, and fell right into the demon's arms.

He then held her by the collar of her shirt and her feet dangled above the ground.

Marco swore under his breath. His plan had fallen apart so easily.

Except... Janna hadn't disappeared yet?

" **Where is your broach, human?** " the demon asked, clearly annoyed.

"I hid it, duh. What, do you think I'd just keep it on my shirt?" Janna said with a casual shrug.

Of course. Why hadn't Marco thought of that? Why hadn't _anyone_ thought of that? Despite this, the demon didn't seem to mind all that much. He faced Star and held one of his claws up against Janna's neck.

" **If you don't want this girl to die, you'll put down your wand and surrender your broach at once,"** the demon said.

Star gasped. Damn, Marco didn't expect him to go that route, but he was getting desperate. The demon still wasn't aware of Marco's presence. Marco would have to run up and deliver the final blow when he was distracted enough. Star slowly put her wand on the ground and waved her arms.

"Okay okay! You win, just… don't hurt Janna," Star said, as she started undoing her broach.

"Come on Star. You're going to give up so easily? You had such a clear shot for his head," Janna said.

What was she doing?

"Janna! I'm not going to shoot him while he has a knife on you!"

"That's what quitters sound like! Now pick up the wand! You're the one making the demands." Janna turned her head towards Marco and winked at him.

Ah. Now he understood. She was buying him time.

" **Stay quiet, you! You are my hostage and I will not tolerate your nonsense,"** the demon said.

"Yeah Janna! You're just making things worse!" Star said.

"Oh, like giving up is that much better," Janna said.

The two continued bickering while Marco tried to focus on Ferguson's body. He needed to save Janna first.

What the…?

Due to sleep deprivation, Marco's vision was starting to get fuzzy. He hoped Jackie was still able to make out what he was seeing on her end. Marco calmed himself. He just had to get Janna out of there. In a moment, he thought up a plan.

Marco held his right hand in front of him and waved it to make sure Jackie was following his motions. He put his hand flat and vertical as if telling someone to stop or wait, and then pointed at under Janna. He then immediately put up three fingers and started to count down with them at a steady pace. As soon as the countdown was over, he grabbed his golf club and threw it.

As the club made contact with the demon's arm, Marco pointed under Janna again. The demon yelled in pain and let go of Janna, and she fell straight into the portal that had just formed.

The portal closed and Marco almost felt relief, but he looked back and remembered that Star was currently defenseless.

Star attempted to grab her wand from the ground but the demon kicked it to the other side of the living room. He formed a shadow over her. With the reach of his claws, Star had no chance of escape.

" **Such a powerful weapon, reduced to a toy. I expected better from a Butterfly.** **You are a disgrace to your lineage.** "

Star was taken aback. "What? No I'm not...I'm…"

" **Goodbye, Princess.** "

Marco had to go now! He got up and took the first step with with his right foot-

…only for it to give out entirely and send Marco to the ground. Damn. Not now, body. Just a little more…

The demon turned to see Marco, while still keeping Star within his grasp.

"Marco!" Star yelled.

Before she could do anything, the demon snatched her broach. As she faded from existance, Star yelled out one last time to Marco.

"Give the wand to my mom! She'll kn-"

...and then she vanished. Just like with Tom and Alfonso, only her broach remained.

"No!" Marco shouted.

The demon cackled and a stream of fire shot from the mouth of the mask and all Marco could do was watch.

He wanted to cry. His best friend was gone and it was all his fault. He had trained his body to work without sleep, but that body was gone, and in it's place was this worthless and pathetic husk.

Why couldn't he have stayed the way he was when he went through that portal?

Why did he have to start from point zero again?

Why couldn't he save _anyone_?

Why was he alone?

Why was he so weak?

Why?

Why?

Why!

After setting most of the living room on fire, the demon finally spoke.

" **I am victorious! With Prince Tom and Princess Star out of the way, no one can stop me. This lowly dimension will be mine for the taking."**

Marco couldn't believe it. He let everyone down. He thought it'd be different this time. He'd gotten so much better, but all that progress was stripped away from him. Now their only hope lied in Jackie and Janna, but their element of surprise was gone. With his right arm broken, he couldn't even summon Kar' Margorach, if he was even there anymore. The most Marco could do now was find Star's wand and hopefully her mom could defeat him. He wasn't going to give up now. He had to save them.

Marco reached out with his good arm and started dragging himself forward. With every motion he felt himself deteriorate both physically and mentally. He also had to deal with maneuvering around the flames, which wasn't being helped by his blurring vision.

" **I will ravage the lands until Earth matches my kingdom, and I will slaughter millions of citizens until the rest bow to my power!** "

He had to keep going. Even if there was a one percent chance of victory, Marco had to take it. Just keep talking... Just keep talking...

" **But first, I will kill those two girls for their inconvenience, and make you watch.** "

The demon flew in front of Marco and stepped on his broken arm.

Marco wailed in pain. He was at his breaking point. He did all he could to push Ferguson's body away, but to no avail.

The demon eventually lifted his leg up, either out of pity or so Marco could hear him gloat.

" **Accept your defeat, human! You were always meant for failure the day you were born on this pathetic dimension. You humans, with your brittle bodies and ignorance to magic, are as primitive as they come. Millions of years later and not one of your kind could achieve dimensional travel. This was a foreseeable fate.** "

Marco frowned. "But I.." Wait. Was he the first human to ever go through Heckapoo's quest?

Marco chuckled. How ironic that this demon was about to slaughter the only human to ever get their own scissors, and it was bragging about how no human ever had.

" **You find your situation amusing?** " the demon asked, looking down at Marco.

"Well, actually, I just got my pair of dimensional scissors yesterday," Marco explained.

" **I am not talking about counterfeits or petty theft, boy. Anyone can-** "

"No, I got them from Heckapoo," Marco interrupted. He wanted to at least get credit for _that_ before he died.

The demon frowned and took a step back.

" **You what?** "

"I got the scissors from Heckapoo?" Marco repeated. "As in… I completed her quest?" Then, without saying anything, the demon took several more steps back. His mannerisms implied he was panicking, like his perception of the teenage boy changed completely. It was as if he went from viewing Marco as this annoying pest, to acting like he had come face to face with the Grim Reaper himself. Marco had the sudden realization of how big of a deal his victory over Heckapoo really was.

" **You're lying! Those who have defeated that witch's trial go down as legends! They are considered the most powerful and persistent warriors of the multiverse!** "

Marco never really viewed himself that way. He was never trying to beat Heckapoo for glory or anything like that. He just wanted to replace the scissors Heckapoo confiscated, and give them to Star. Marco smiled.

"Thanks. I really needed that confidence boost," Marco said. The demon looked him over and started to calm down.

Marco planted both his feet on the ground and used a knocked-over chair to slowly lift himself up.

The demon stood there, unimpressed.

" **It's clear you're just hiding behind a clever lie. Those scissors you used must have belonged to the princess. In the end, you're just a weakling.** " the demon said, as steam was being released from his apparently-fire-proof mask.

Marco eventually forced his body to stand up completely. He was in a catastrophic amount of pain, but what else was new. Was this really any different from his first day in the forest, where he would have been crippled forever had Toza not happened to pass by that night? He had to start somewhere.

He undid his broach and threw it out a nearby window. His arm hurt as he locked both his hands into fists. Marco stared the demon down.

"Wanna bet?"

The demon laughed.

" **Petty human, what do you plan do in your state?** "

Marco didn't even give the demon an answer. He just ran at him. Marco's body was trying to convince him to stop, but he was having none of it.

The demon laughed again as Marco rushed towards him. It sucked in a deep breath and let out a huge ball of fire at him.

To the demon's surprise, Marco made no attempt to dodge his attack, but instead charged through it.

All Marco saw were flames and then a shocked expression as he came out the other side. Marco began slamming his fists into the mask over and over again.

With each hit, the fire across his clothes burned more and more. His knuckles split open and blood started to spread across the mask. Marco felt the demon's claws cut into his sides, but he didn't care. Say what would about him, Marco was at least persistent, and he wouldn't stop until he won this stupid game.

" **How are you doing this. You should have died by now?** "

"Shut up," Marco said, coldly.

Just as Marco noticed a claw heading towards his heart, he lifted his heavy leg one more time and kicked the demon across the head.

The demon fell back. Several cracks had formed on the mask. Marco wasted no time and reached down to grab his hair. With his other hand on the mask, he pulled with all his might until it ripped off from Ferguson's face.

Marco finally got a good look at the possessed Ferguson's face. His eyes were blood red and some fangs stuck out of his mouth. The demon looked like he had some final words, but something seemed to take control of him. The demon gasped as he tried to maintain himself.

" **Con-gratu-lations. The R-red Team... wins..."** The demon said, most likely against his will.

The burns across Marco's body hurt, and blood dripped from his knuckles, but as Ferguson started reverting back to his old self, Marco felt the accomplishment of winning the fight, and threw his fist into the air.

It may have been the adrenaline talking, but maybe returning to Earth wasn't so bad. Even though he had completely forgotten Earth culture, he knew Star and the others would be there to help him through it. He may have been reduced to an awkward teenager again, but he already reached his potential before, and nothing was stopping him from doing it again. He almost wet himself the first time he fought a class 3 threat like this, but this time he had the experience to do it right. Something in his head was telling him everything would be okay.

Marco felt the weight of his exhaustion again and looked down at his hands, which were bloody and covered in burns. He laughed weakly. He was actually in _worse_ shape the last time he fought a demon. And he was an adult when that happened. Who knows, maybe he could be _better_ than he was. Maybe he could-

Blackness invaded his vision and he heard his name get called from several different voices.

His face hit the ground and the last thing he heard was the doorbell.

Huh. It was probably the pizza.


	9. Chapter 9: Visiting Hours

Marco pulled the cloak a little tighter. He couldn't risk being seen, not tonight. The rain misting through the alleyways helped, but Marco hated that he'd probably leave behind puddles when he went inside. He'd have to ask Fiel to clean it up after he left. You could never be too careful.

Speaking of which, Marco decided to check the bandages on his chest before going in.

Yup, still soaked in blood. At least it didn't hurt anymore. Well, physically, anyway. It had mostly healed, but ta'khu leaves could only do so much. Marco was told by the guild doctor to take it easy for two days, but he didn't care. He had to talk to her. He put the cloak back on and continued.

The pale lantern light of the prison guard caught Marco's eye and he breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god. There was still time. He approached the entrance to Rotarus before the guard noticed Marco and pointed his lance at him.

"What do you think you're doing here this late?" the guard asked. Marco couldn't tell if it was Fiel or not from the voice. Marco took a few steps back to show that he didn't mean any harm.

"Relax, I'm here to see Allion of Zonst," Marco said. The guard eyed him suspiciously through his helmet. It had only been a few hours since her arrest, and the guards were told to keep quiet about it.

"It's well past visiting hours. Come back in the morning."

"That's strange, I was told that as long as a guard was present to escort me, I'd be able to see her. If money's an issue, then I-"

"Don't get smart with me, boy!" The guard said with a grunt. "I'm under no obligation to just let _anyone_ in. That girl's presence here hasn't been made public yet, so you asking to see her is awfully suspicious. You could be working with her. Leave now before I take you in for questioning."

Marco closed his eyes. The whole point of this was to not have anyone know. Once this guard knew he was involved, this became much bigger. Taking Marco's hesitation as defiance, the guard tried to get a better look at his face. Marco pulled the cloak tighter.

"Do I need to repeat myself? Go home," he ordered.

Marco groaned. There wasn't much else he could do. He pulled his hoods down and looked the guard straight in the eyes. The guard gasped.

"Guildmaster Marco?" the guard said, and with that, the hostility in the air dissolved instantly. "What, is this all some silly lover's quarrell?"

"Yeah, something like that," Marco lied, scratching the back of his head.

"Apologies for my rudeness. Come right in," the guard said. It wasn't Fiel, but his voice sounded familiar. Maybe Sariat? Either way, the guard opened the large bulky doors that were behind him and they entered Rotarus.

"Right this way. I probably shouldn't have to tell you, but keep close to me. Wandering off could be the last mistake you make," he warned, leading Marco into the darkness with his lantern.

The guard, who was probably Sariat, led Marco through several twisting corridors, and just as Marco suspected, he was leaving a trail of water behind him. Great.

The trek must have taken what seemed like half an hour. Rotarus was no ordinary dungeon. It was a labyrinth that stretched several miles wide and contained hundreds of deadly traps, making escape quite impossible. Only the guards knew what the safest path was. Even then, Earth Crafters would come every month or so to change the design of the maze, which prevented visitors from mapping out consistent routes. Whenever a prisoner managed to escape their cell, they'd either die from getting lost or by getting decapitated. This is why so many people had nicknamed Rotarus "The Pits of Hell."

The two eventually made their way to where Allion was being held.

"Here she is," the guard said, pointing to what looked like an empty cell. Marco knew better, though.

"I want to be alone with her," Marco said. "And no one can know that I was here." Sariat stared at him for a moment.

"Sir, conjugal visits are strictly forbidden."

Marco shot a look at him. Sariat sighed.

"Very well sir. Your orders take priority over my superior's, so I have no choice. I'm keeping the cell door locked, though. Call me when you're ready to leave," Sariat said. Marco watched as Sariat walked down the corridor until he was no longer visible.

Marco took a deep, shaky breath. He stood there, hoping that she would at least reveal herself to him. When she didn't appear, he spoke.

"Allion, I'm not leaving til you explain yourself."

Marco was feeling a chaotic wave of emotions. He spent the whole journey to Rotarus thinking over how he would approach her. Those eight words he had just spoke had been rehearsed so many times in his head, it felt relieving saying them out loud for the first time. He was still mad, of course, furious even, but he wasn't going to lock her away and pretend the last 5 years or so never happened. He needed answers, or at the very least… closure.

After several gruelling seconds, it still felt like Marco was the only one inside the room. He decided to be more direct.

"Ally, why did you try to kill me?"

Allion finally came into view on the bed. She sat there and stared Marco down. She had a cocky smile on her face - the same smile Marco had seen hundreds of times, whether it was from winning a fight or making Marco laugh when he was trying to be serious. It sent a chill down his spine that she had it on her face now.

She remained quiet still, and Marco tried again. "Allion, what the hell? Why would you just…" Shove a dagger at your boyfriend's heart? Get angry that you missed? "... Attack me?"

Silence. Silence and a cocky grin.

Marco felt like he was going to break under the unrelenting gaze of his girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend, he supposed now. Damnit, he was supposed to be the interrogator here! Frustrated, Marco began chanting an exorcism under his breath. Maybe it wasn't her in there. Maybe-

"That's not going to do anything, Marco," Allion said quickly, her smile never fading. "I just wanted to be Guildmaster."

She just- "What?" Marco asked before sucking in a shaky breath. "You tried to _kill me_ because you wanted my job!?"

No response. Just a confident shrug.

She was being serious. There wasn't a hint of hesitation in her voice. Allion sounded so confident. It was unsettling.

Marco felt uneasy. His vision was fading. All of the color in the room was becoming desaturated. Unable to think straight, Marco slammed his hands on the cell bars.

"You could have just asked!"

Tears streaming down his face.

"You've been listening to me complain about paperwork every night for almost a year! You _knew_ I didn't like being guildmaster! I would have given it to you…"

Silence. Marco pressed his forehead against the bars and let out a quiet sob.

"Why? What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this?"

"You weren't worthy of being Guildmaster," Allion said, and right then, something clicked in Marco's head. The way she was speaking, in short, terse sentences and then going completely silent again, that was her tick. It was how Marco had caught her throwing him a party for his Dek-teenth birthday. Whenever she lied, she had the same damn tick.

"Allion, what's really going on?" He asked, softer and calmer than before. She hadn't just tried to kill him for his job, at least. There had to be more to it.

Silence, again. Marco groaned. He hadn't wanted to use her own techniques against her, but he guessed that was a little less disrespectful than literally stabbing someone in the back.

Marco looked back up at her. Allion had stopped making eye contact, and was staring at the floor in front of her. Marco closed his eyes and concentrated. He would have to catch her before she shifted back into her camouflage.

Slowly and deliberately, Marco muttered a few words of the Ancient Tongue. They were one of four phrases that he knew, but Allion had at least a dozen memorized. Marco pressed his index fingers together and made a triangle shape by connecting them with his thumbs.

Faster than Allion could notice, Marco aimed his hands at her and finished the phrase, long and convoluted as it was. Allion had just enough time to look up before she was hit with a beam of light that only Marco could see, but the second she noticed the position of his hands, her eyes went wide.

"No, I-" she covered her mouth for a moment. "You can't do that to me!"

In a rage, Allion stood and went right up to the cell door. Marco stepped away to remain out of reach, never letting go of his hands' position.

"I taught you that, you piece of shit!" Allion reached through the cell bars in a desperate attempt to grab Marco.

"Yeah, but you also taught me how to screw someone over, and here we are." Marco frowned. She always had a bit of a temper. Marco heard Sariat call to him.

"Is everything okay in there!?"

Marco turned his head and no one was there. Sariat was still outside, but apparently Allion's screaming was loud enough to alert him.

"I have the situation under control!" Marco shouted. He couldn't allow his concentration to break. He only had one shot at this, because he knew Allion wouldn't give him another.

Marco took a deep breath and asked his first question.

"Now, why did you try to kill me?"

Allion glared at Marco. She wouldn't be able resist the force of the incantation. She gave her answer to Marco loudly and clearly.

"To become guildmaster," she said, before she dropped her arms in defeat. Wait, so she _did_ just attack him for his job? What the hell? Marco held on to the position his hands were in and continued.

"Why didn't you just talk to me about it?"

"If you gave it to me willingly, I would always be worried that you'd try to take it back," she said, glaring daggers at him. Well that stumped Marco. This was all giving him a headache.

"Why the hell would I take it away?"

"Because you would eventually find out I was working for Scarion."

"What?" Marco blinked. The Sentin guildmaster? "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm Scarion's younger sister. My siblings and I have been sent out to gain influence and lead the other guilds." Marco's headache was turning into a throbbing pain.

"Why?" he asked. This was starting to overwhelm him.

"He wants to control seven other guilds at the council so he can pass whatever laws he pleases."

Holy crap. If he had majority vote, it might as well be a dictatorship. Marco didn't like having a seat at the council, but he wasn't about to give it up in favor of some madman gaining absolute power.

"What is he planning?" Marco asked tentatively. Allion smirked at him.

"I don't know. Whatever he has planned, he didn't tell any of us. Specifically in case this happened."

Marco groaned. The Sentin guildmaster always seemed to blend into the background at the meetings, so Marco never pegged him as the dictator-in-training type, but he guessed that was kind of the whole point?

"What guilds does he control already?" Marco asked.

"I don't know that either."

"Did you mean it when you told me you loved me?" Marco didn't know why that question blurted from his mouth, but he felt so used by her. Had everything been a lie? Was anything they did real?

"I meant every word, but my family comes first."

"So… you didn't feel conflicted at all?" Marco was wondering just how low he was on her priority list.

"Of course I did. If I hadn't hesitated, you would actually be dead."

Fair enough.

"Originally, I had my mission to kill Heckapoo and take her place as guildmaster. But then you ended up blowing out her flame first. It complicated things." Allion said.

Marco had enough. He separated his hands and ended the ritual. Allion didn't react to this visibly, though, and was still up against the bars. She continued to stare at him.

This was a dire situation. A conspiracy was occurring right under everyone's noses that could change everything in Qur Don. Over the last few months, several 'accidents' took place that took the lives of respected guildmasters. Marco now knew what was _really_ going on. He could easily use the Truth Ritual to find the guildmasters being puppeted by Scarion and put an end to this. But there was one problem:

Marco didn't care.

Scarion could destroy this entire dimension. But it didn't matter. Marco's world was already shattered earlier this morning when his lover tried to assassinate him. Marco felt like he was going to throw up, knowing that he'd never have a meaningful relationship ever again. From now on, no matter how kind-hearted a person seemed, he would always be thinking about the inevitable betrayal in the back of his head. The worst part was that Allion still loved him. Even the people who cared about him most could just turn, in a blink of an eye, and the next thing he knew, he's feeling their knife slice against his ribcage. His days of trusting anyone were over. Could he even continue living in such a suffocating fashion? Would he have to use the Truth Ritual on _everyone_ he met?

Marco looked back at Allion, but she was looking down at the ground now, lost in her own thoughts. Marco wondered what was going on in her head. Was she guilty? Did she even feel remorse for what she did, or would she do it again if he let her free? He didn't even know where their relationship stood at this point.

"So… what do we do now? Between the two of us, I mean," Marco asked. He didn't know what else to say. He expected Allion to go back to giving him the silent treatment. She didn't seem to know how to deal with the situation, either.

"You can do whatever you want, Marco," Allion said. "You're the guildmaster of Zonst, after all. It's up to the guildmaster's discretion on how assasination attempts get handled on their domain. You can kill me right now and be perfectly justified. You could also set me free, or you can banish me from Qur Don. My fate is in your hands."

"What!? I'm not going to kill you, Allion!" Marco said. It bothered him so much that she would even suggest it.

"Yeah, I know. It's never been in your nature. That's the difference between you and my brother. He's willing to do whatever it takes to make the world better, and you're hung up on the little things. You have no conviction."

"Little? Killing people isn't a _little_ thing!" Marco said.

"You're a hypocrite! How do you explain Heckapoo then? You took away her right to exist just so you can get a pair of scissors back?" Allion said.

Marco flinched. In all his years of chasing those clones, he never once considered them living beings. He always thought of them as extensions of Heckapoo's consciousness. Whenever he would pin one of them to the ground and take one last breath to blow out her flame, she never begged for her life. She didn't plead or grovel. She would smile.

That damn smile. That smile that said "You got lucky, loser. I hope you enjoy doing this for the rest of your life!" To them this was just a game. They would always turn his victories into realizations on how much time he had wasted on them. Realizations on how this whole thing would never end. Those clones have no dreams or aspirations. They only exist to make him suffer, and that's why they needed to disappear.

"That's different! They're just illusions! They don't care one way or the other," Marco said, trying his best to explain himself without sounding like a crazy serial killer.

"Do you know that for sure, though?" Allion asked with a frown.

"I course I do!" Marco said. He was getting aggravated. He didn't like the idea that everything he worked for til now being so morally gray.

"It's okay, Marco. You're not at fault. I never once assumed you were in the wrong. They're the ones hurting _you_. I remember all those nights where you would cry on my lap, saying how you wish everything would go back to normal, and how you wanted to see Star again. They took everything away from you, and you're just giving them what they deserve," Allion said.

Marco turned away from her. Something about the way she spoke reminded him of those stupid villains who would convince the heroes to turn bad. He wanted to get out of here before she actually succeeded.

"Wait, don't leave yet, Marco!" Allion said, and there was just enough vulnerability in her voice to stop Marco on the spot. "We can still make this work. I just have to show you my brother's good intentions."

"What, do you think I'm an idiot?"

"Just hear me out. I'm sorry for what I did, but my brother doesn't know that our relationship is real. He was getting impatient, and constantly telling me to go through with it, or he'd kill you himself. I didn't know what to do."

"So you decided to protect me from Scarion by killing me first? How thoughtful of you," Marco said sarcastically.

Allion shook her head. "You don't understand. I owe everything to my brother. Disappointing him was not an option."

"What do you mean?"

"When I was a small girl, our family was kidnapped by Cleradic soldiers and sold into slavery."

"Yeah, I remember you telling me about that once." In reality, Allion had told Marco about that part of her past many times. It was a topic she frequently brought up during pillow talk.

"Scarion managed to escape and promised he'd come back for us. Of course, none of us believed him, until the day years later when we were rescued by the Sentin army, which he himself lead. We couldn't believe it."

"Wait, how far away from Qur Don was this place?" Qur Don was a very independent nation. A guild's army rarely set foot outside the country.

"The camp we were imprisoned in was about a two day journey on horseback," Allion said.

"I imagine the council wasn't happy about this. Sentin is a province on Qur Don's border, after all, so leaving that whole area defenseless while it's army is somewhere else probably looked bad on him."

"The gold Sentin raided in that camp was enough to win the council over. But don't you see, Marco? Scarion knew he couldn't save us single handedly, so he fought his way to a position of power, and then put his reputation on the line to free us. He dedicated his life to saving me, so now I must dedicate my life to him."

"That's a load of crap!" Marco said.

"W-what do you mean?" Allion asked. She was thrown off by Marco's reaction.

"You don't owe Scarion anything. So what? You're just going to blindly follow his orders for the rest of your life? You don't even know what his endgame is. What if the killing doesn't end with the guildmasters? Are you just going to wipe the blood off your gloves and say 'there was nothing I can do'? In the end, you're still a slave."

"I knew you wouldn't understand, Marco. This is why I choose not to tell you about Scarion," Allion said.

"And why did you never tell him the truth about us?"

Allion hesitated. "Well, I-"

"Because you already knew what he would say. He would still make you do it. He would force you to kill someone you love. Your feelings don't matter to him. Have you considered that Scarion saved you _just_ so he could manipulate you?"

"He has every right to use me as a tool! And I don't care what his intentions were when he saved me. The fact is he _did_. There will always be a selfish reason behind a selfless act. That's just the way things are. No one is any better."

"Alright, now it's your turn to hear a story." Marco sat down, legs crossed. Allion looked annoyed that Marco dodged her point, but she stayed quiet anyway. She'd have to listen to him regardless.

"I remember when I still lived on Earth with Star. There was this group of monsters that would always attack us. They were always after her wand," Marco said. "One night, they kidnapped me, and they put me in this glass box that was going to crush me slowly. When they demanded Star's wand as a ransom, she didn't even hesitate. Star gave it up in exchange for my life without a second thought."

"But it's just a wand," Allion said. "You can get those anywhere."

"This wand was one of a kind," Marco said. "It was her family heirloom passed down for generations. It was probably the most important thing in the world to her, and she gave it up the second my life was on the line. She saved me just like Scarion saved you, but she never expected anything from it. She never used it as leverage against me. She was just happy I was alive."

Allion chuckled.

"What is it?" Marco asked.

"It's just, you always look the happiest whenever you talk about Star," Allion said with a smile. "It's funny. Although I never met Star, I always feel like I'm competing against her. You make her out to be perfect."

Marco blushed. "Well, the point I was trying to make is that true friends don't expect payment for helping each other out."

"I get it, but Scarion isn't just some friend. I've known him my entire life. My whole family is in on this plan. Is it really okay to just abandon them?"

Marco put a hand on the bar.

"Ally, you have to fight for what _you_ believe in. And I'm not saying you should abandon your siblings. They could just be confused, or going about it the wrong way. Someone has to confront them on what they're doing. If their hearts aren't truly into this, then they could end up doing something they'll regret for the rest of their lives."

"I already know what that feels like," Allion said.

She didn't say anything else. Marco watched her as she was alone with her thoughts again. After several minutes, a look of determination sprang from her face. She got up and locked eyes with Marco.

"Marco, can you help me talk to Scarion?"

Marco cracked a smile. _This_ was the Allion he knew and loved.

"Of course. As the guildmaster of Zonst, I hereby void your crime of attempted assassination."

Allion smiled.

Marco called Sariat. There were three days until the next council meeting. They would have to work fast.

...

Marco opened his eyes and frowned in confusion. Not because he was in a hospital (he obviously needed to be in one after that fight), but because he wasn't screaming and covered in sweat. It was an odd occurrence that he woke up peacefully, but maybe that changed when he moved back to Earth. He sure hoped so.

And what was with that dream? Could he even call that a dream? It felt like a one-for-one recreation of his time in Qur Don. It was too vivid and detailed to be a dream. Marco could call it a straight memory, but then why was he remembering it now? Could it be a side effect of reverting back to a teenager? Could it-

The sound of a page turning pulled Marco out of his thoughts. He sat up and noticed Tom sitting in the corner, reading a magazine casually. He was using a small fire from his finger as a light in the darkness. The only other light source for the room was a pale moonlight coming through the window.

Marco looked down and saw that there were several needles stuck inside his left arm. They had tubes attaching them to a plastic bag hanging beside the bed. He was thankful the doctors didn't put the needles in his other arm. Marco could only imagine what hell would break loose if _he_ woke up to such a thing while Marco was unconscious. Marco briefly wondered if he was at all conscious in there. Marco would look into it later, though.

He looked back at his left arm. While Marco didn't remember the name for this procedure, he at least remembered learning the needles' purpose from watching Spanish soap operas with his parents at a young age. It was something about making sure the patient's body gets enough nutrients, but it wasn't that important to him right now.

Tom being there must have meant that Star and Alfonso also returned when the game ended. He needed to know what happened during the aftermath, and how long he had been out. And hadn't his house caught on fire?

"Erm," Marco rasped. His throat was dry as hell, but he hadn't expected any less. It wasn't like he'd never passed out before. Tom looked up from his magazine and sighed.

"Figures you'd wake up on my shift. You just missed Star." Tom got up and stretched a little. "Visiting hours just ended, so no one's allowed in. Of course, that didn't stop Star from forcing me to sneak in and watch you for the night." Tom sighed again, walked over to Marco, and handed him a glass of water. Marco snatched it with his right hand and chugged the entire glass. Ah, much better.

"Thanks," Marco said once his voice worked again. He then looked at his right arm and realized that it wasn't a mangled mess. The burns all over his body were gone as well. Now Marco _really_ wanted to know how long it'd been since he got here.

Tom pulled up a chair to Marco's bed and sat on it. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Umm… was I in a coma or something?" Marco asked with a straight face.

"What? Oh, right. Jackie did mention you were in pretty bad shape by the end of it. So... basically, after the mask was taken off, the game was over, and every person and object returned to the form they had before the game started," Tom said. "You were already passed out when everything went back to normal, so Janna called the hospital, and here you are now. It's only been a day, but they've been worried sick about you."

"Okay, then," Marco said bluntly. He felt like that pretty much covered everything he needed to know.

Marco examined his body and then pulled up his hospital gown. The cut on his leg was almost fully healed, but was still visible. Besides that, every other part of his body looked good as new. Marco was pretty thankful for this. With all those burns, he'd have to spend weeks in rehabilitation. Imagine all that time wasted, when he could be out there hunting down Heckapoos inste-

Marco stopped and had to remind himself that life was over. He was no longer 'Marco the Cunning,' 'Marco the Freedom Fighter,' or whatever other lame titles he had tried giving himself over the years. He was now 'Marco the Good-Intentioned High School Student.' and the sooner he accepted that, the better. Speaking of which, now that Marco was awake, he'd probably be expected to go back to school the following morning. Damn! Why couldn't those burns have stayed?

"So I heard you were really badass during that game." Tom said, probably hoping to break the awkward silence.

"You did? From who?" Marco asked. As far as Marco knew, he and the Mask Tag demon were the only ones in the living room during their confrontation.

"Jackie," Tom said. "She said she saw everything. I wouldn't exactly call 'jumping into fire' a smart tactic, but even I have to admit that's pretty dope."

That's right. Jackie had used the nectar on her eye so Marco could relay everything he was seeing to her. While that plan didn't work out entirely, Marco was at least happy he gave her a good show.

Tom continued. "My gut reaction was to take that testimony with a grain of salt, but then even Thomifat starting praising you. He was hyping you up to be some sort of god or whatever to try to not sound like he got his butt kicked by a human." Who? Oh, Thomifat must have been the Mask Tag demon's name. "He's back in prison now. We sucked his soul out of the mask and shoved it into his old body. Now he's the butt of everyone's jokes."

Marco smiled. He was glad to know that jerk was suffering.

"So, whose bright idea was it to put souls in masks and sell them as family games?" Marco asked, out of genuine curiosity.

"My dad's, actually." Tom said. "He thought it would be a good way of dealing with the overpopulation of our prisons. He figured being constantly subjected to humiliation for a lighter sentence would be a good trade off. Not only that, but if you won the game, you'd get to go away scot-free in the body you possessed. It's pretty much a win-win scenario all around."

Marco had a hard time accepting that logic.

"Thomifat technically stayed true to the spirit of the game, but he made a major violation to one of his sentencing conditions."

"And what was the condition?" Marco asked.

"'Prince Tom must never lose during a game'," Tom said.

The two laughed silently, hoping that none of the nurses or patients from down the hall would hear them. After the moment died down, Tom spoke again.

"I should let Star know that you're awake. She said I need to tell her when you come to, even if it's in the middle of the night… which it is, by the way." Tom said awkwardly. He pulled out a cell-phone that was in the shape of a casket and started typing on it.

While Tom was doing that, Marco looked at what he assumed was a clock on the wall. He took some time trying to read it and realized that Earth used a different numerical system than he was used to. Riradesh was duodecimal, and the fact that there were nine symbols on this clock before it became double digits meant that Earth's number system was decimal based. It kind of aggravated him that there were twenty hours in the day and they still used a decimal system. Marco started doing the math in his head. In their system it would be twenty-four. Ugh.

Deciding to leave that headache for now, Marco began to wonder what would happen if the doctors or nurses found out about his little illiteracy problem. There'd be no way of explaining what happened and then they might try to keep him here longer. He'd have to be careful and try to chalk it up to feeling disoriented. Trying not to think about it, Marco glanced over to Tom and saw he was done with his phone.

"Whelp, looks like my work here is done. I'm gonna head home now. My dad's probably wondering where've I've been for the last 28 hours. Or not..." Tom got up from his chair and started heading towards the window.

"Wait! Um… don't go yet," Marco said. He really didn't want to be left alone for the rest of the night. He didn't know how long it it would be til his parents came to pick him up and he would be bored out of his mind stuck in this room with nothing to do.

"What is it?" Tom asked.

Marco scrambled to think of something. "I'm pretty hungry actually. Do you think you can pick me up some food?"

"Dude, just call the nurses for that. It's, like, their job or something."

"I don't want hospital food, though. I need _real_ food. Plus, I haven't eaten since breakfast yesterday. Is there any leftover pizza?" Marco remembered loving pizza back on Earth. He was starting to feel nostalgic for a taste he couldn't even remember.

"Ok, Fine! Sheesh, you're needy. You can have the slice I didn't finish." Tom snapped his fingers and a ring of fire formed on top of Marco's lap. Marco tensed but he calmed down when the fire materialized into a plate of pizza.

However, the slice looked anything but appetizing. Tom had already taken a few bites out of it and Marco was pretty sure eyeballs and spiderwebs weren't traditional topping choices. Marco gagged a little.

"What's the matter? It's a proper demon custom to put the eyes of nonbelievers on our food," Tom said.

Marco didn't say anything.

"Come on. Don't knock it til you at least take a bite. Trying something new isn't gonna kill ya," Tom said impatiently. No, Marco had tried plenty of new things before and at least half those things really _did_ try to kill him. Marco attempted to talk his way out.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure-"

"Are you disrespecting my culture, Marco?" Tom stared at him coldly.

Marco sighed. Screw it, he was hungry anyway.

Marco nervously took a bite and was shocked that it wasn't that bad. He'd definitely eaten worse, at least. The textures complemented the cheese well and it felt good when it melted in his mouth. Marco finished the crust and was relieved to have something in his stomach. Tom laughed.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you actually ate it! You're so messed up, man! I was so close to putting real eyes on there, too!" Tom said. Marco could feel his face turning bright red. He should have known better. Marco tried to change the subject.

"Hey Tom, I've been meaning to ask you something. What was your reason for bringing that game to my house? You seemed really set on playing it."

Tom choked on his laugh and looked like he'd been caught stealing someone's baby. It was Tom's turn to be in the spotlight now, and Marco's interest was now piqued.

"I mean, you must have known the potential risks when you said we should play it. Of course you and Star are both pretty strong, but Jackie and the others aren't like you guys. Did you think for a second that you would be putting their lives in danger?"

Tom forced some nervous laughter before finally forming words to explain himself.

"Yeah, uh, well, you see… I figured because Ferguson was human, he wouldn't be that hard to deal with while wearing the mask," Tom explained. "I mean, I didn't expect Thomifat to be much trouble in _that_ body. I thought it'd be like an easy mode, you know?" Tom was trying not to make eye contact. Marco wasn't buying his half hearted excuse.

"But it was by _coincidence_ that Ferguson became the demon. If he didn't volunteer, we would have decided randomly," Marco said. "Are you telling me if you or Star had been chosen to wear the mask instead, things may have turned out even worse? And I'm pretty sure it didn't matter who wore the mask, because either way they'd inherit supernatural powers."

"Listen Marco, I don't get why this is such a big deal. So, I made a miscalculation. Whatever. Things worked out in the end. Let's be happy that we're all still alive and leave it at that." He miscalculated? What was Tom hoping would happen last night?

"You're dodging my questions."

"Yeah? So what? I don't have to tell you anything. I don't need to explain myself to someone who's willing to eat eyeballs. I'm getting out of here." Tom went back towards the window again and started reaching inside his pants' pocket for something.

Marco really wanted to trust Tom, but it's clear he had some ulterior motive for coming to the sleepover. It could have been an actual attempt to kill them for all he knew. Tom could easily have wanted Star to wear the mask and slaughter them all. Marco frowned. He didn't have clear memories of Tom, but the few he did have didn't see Tom in a positive light. He _had_ to know. He had to be _sure_.

Marco took a deep breath. He hadn't done this in years, and he honestly wasn't sure if his younger body was capable of doing it, but it was worth a shot.

"Where did I put that stupid bell?" Tom mumbled to himself.

Marco used his two thumbs and two index fingers to form a triangle. He positioned his hands so that Tom was inside the triangle. Tom was too busy rummaging through his pockets to notice what Marco was doing. Marco focused all of his attention on Tom before whispering a calculated phrase of the Ancient Tongue to himself. If he hadn't had that dream, he probably wouldn't have remembered the exact words, but it was cool that he actually understood what the words meant now. A blue light then emitted from Marco's hands and shot out at Tom. Tom staggered a little and his hand gripped his forehead.

"What's going on? My head's pounding!" Tom said. Well, it seemed like it was working at least. Marco had to test it, though.

"What were those eyeballs made of?" Marco asked. Tom flinched.

"Jell-O!" Tom said, and he immediately tried to cover his mouth. "What did you do to me?"

Good. It was working. "It's just a Truth Ritual," Marco explained. He was glad it worked on demons, and at least he didn't lose _all_ of his skills when coming back to Earth. "Now, why did you bring that game to my house?"

"I just wanted to impress Star! I thought if I beat the game singlehandedly, she'd like me again!" Tom said, despite his hands still covering his mouth.

"Why did you think you could take him on your own?" Marco asked, perplexed. He never seemed to get answers that made sense with this incantation…

"I made a deal with Thomifat. If he went easy on me and let me win, I'd set him free."

"So, then, why did he break the deal?" Marco asked.

"Because he thought I was lying!"

"Why would he think that?"

"Because I always lie to get what I want!" Tom started tearing up."It's the only way I can get anyone to like me because the real me is a horrible person!" Tears freely flowed down Tom's face, and Marco quickly pulled his hands apart. "I hate myself."

Marco swallowed uncomfortably. He hadn't meant for it to go in that direction.

Tom just stared blankly ahead, and Marco had the realization that Tom had probably never admitted those things to himself before.

"I'm... sorry," Marco whispered, and Tom just took in a deep, shaky breath. There was a long silence.

"Yeah, me too."

Marco bit his lip and look a deep breath. How could he have just done that to Tom? It hadn't even crossed his mind how messed up it was to force someone who was probably his friend into the truth like that.

Marco needed to fix this. He gripped the pole beside the bed and used it to help him stand. Then, he walked over to where Tom was and sat down, dragging the pole alongside him so that the needles didn't rip out of his arm.

"Wanna talk about it?" Marco offered. Tom looked over at him like he'd grown an extra head.

When he realized that Marco was sincere, he deflated and looked down at his feet.

"Okay, as long as you promise never to do that to me again."

Marco frowned. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I kind of just realized I'm morally corrupt."

"Join the club."

They both laughed a little, but it didn't take long for them to be left in silence again.

"The offer still stands, you know," Marco said. "We have all night. Vent away." There was another moment of silence before Tom finally spoke.

"Okay, fine." Tom took a deep breath. "It's just, I've been getting worse ever since Star dumped me, you know? Like, she was the best thing to ever happen to me. She was the first person to ever hear out my problems and look interested at the same time. She helped me through a lot. But then my temper would always get the better of me, and I started to get really possessive of her. The final straw was at the Bounce Lounge, where I almost devoured some guy she was talking to. I embarrassed Star in front of her friends and she ended it right there."

"Wow," Marco said. He didn't expect Tom to have that kind of history with Star.

"That person who was always there for me was gone now, and the fact that it was all my fault made it worse. I've never felt so alone in my life. I'm miserable without her."

Marco frowned. "You really shouldn't put all your happiness on the shoulders of a single person." Like he had with Allion... "It never turns out well."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I can accept that we don't work as a couple, but I at least want to be on good terms again. I think she saw right through my Mask Tag stunt, though, and after what happened to you, she hates me now more than ever. I just want things to go back to the way they were before, you know?"

He did. "Yeah, me too."

Tom frowned and looked Marco in the eyes. "Wait, why do _you_ want things to go back to how they were?"

"Oh, I didn't mean between you and Star. I was mostly talking about my own problems."

Tom lifted an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"It's a really, _really_ long story," Marco said.

"You said it yourself. We've got all night."

Marco took a moment to figure out how he was going to explain himself. "I spent a lifetime in another dimension, and when I came back to Earth I reverted back into a teenager."

Tom looked him over. "That... actually explains a lot."

Marco chuckled. "I guess that really wasn't a long story."

"Are you kidding? You're like a completely different person now. I legit was worried you were possessed or something before you said that. It also explains where you learned that truth-telling thing," Tom said. "I'm sure even if you gave me the bullet points, it would take hours."

Marco smiled. "Yeah, probably."

They sat for a moment in comfortable silence. Tom looked like he was figuring out how to say something, but the silence was then shattered by the window being swung open.

The two panicked until they realized it was Star, who flew into the room atop a pink cloud. She was wearing a blue pajama dress and looked like she had left the house the second she got Tom's text. Before Marco could even register what was going on, he was already trapped in her embrace.

"Marco!" Star cried. Tears were coming down her face.

"I'm okay, Star. See?" Marco said, but she only hugged him tighter.

"I was so worried!" Star said. "The doctors said it might have been from exhaustion or some weird infection in your arm, or something they couldn't even figure out! We all had no idea what was going on! You wouldn't wake up!"

"I'm fine now," Marco said, and he started to rub her back. "It was definitely the exhaustion. I hadn't slept in days."

That seemed to startle Star. She pulled back from the hug and looked him in the eyes. "What? Why?"

Marco's eyes darted nervously around the room. "Well, when I realized that I only had three more Heckapoos to hunt down, I got _really_ excited and basically ran on adrenaline for a few days."

Star didn't respond. She just stared at him blankly. Marco couldn't tell if she was mad at him or not, so he desperately tried explaining himself better.

"And when I came back to Earth, it was so overwhelming that I couldn't sleep here either. And I guess it caught up to my younger body and-"

Star pulled him into another hug.

"Just don't make me worry like that again, okay?" Star said.

Marco closed his eyes. "I promise." He wasn't sure just how well he could keep that promise, though. Star let go of Marco to take a good look at him, like she was making sure Tom hadn't beaten him while he was unconscious.

After a long moment, Star turned towards Tom. "Thanks for looking after Marco, Tom. You can go home now."

Tom looked at Star anxiously.

"Listen Star, I need to talk to you about something," Tom said.

Star glared at him. "It can wait another day, Tom. I need to make sure Marco's okay. Not everything revolves around you, y'know." Yikes, that was harsh.

Star's statement clearly bit into Tom. He looked like he was going to say something in response, but then stopped himself. He took a deep breath.

"Yeah, you're right, actually. I'll leave you guys alone."

Tom awkwardly maneuvered around Star and Marco to reach the table where he left his magazine. There was a small black bell sitting right next to it.

Tom grabbed the bell and rung it with a tiny hammer. The sound echoed through the room. Outside the window, a carriage, lifted by some sort of Gargoyle, floated upwards. Tom went over and opened the window.

"See you later," Tom said, without even looking at either of them.

"Wait," said Marco.

Tom turned his head in confusion. "What?"

Star looked equally confused. Marco placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Star, Tom feels awful about what happened last night, and he wanted to apologize."

"Really?" Star said. "Are we talking about the same Tom?" She gestured towards Tom with her thumb to punctuate the question. Marco nodded.

"Oh, trust me, until you got here, he couldn't go one minute without saying how sorry he was. It was actually kind of embarrassing."

Star eyed Tom suspiciously. It took Tom a second to realize what Marco was doing.

"Um, yeah! That's totally what I did!" Tom said.

Star still looked unconvinced. Marco had to think fast.

"And uh, I told him what happened to me in Heckapoo's dimension, and how I can't read English anymore. So he helped me with that as well."

Tom's eyes widened at that, but he played along pretty well, despite his shock. He held up the magazine so that Star and Marco could clearly see it. "Yeah, I was, uh, helping him read this Love Sentence magazine!"

"Uh, huh," Star said with the same tone that Marco had heard whenever he told someone he'd stopped a deity from destroying their dimension.

Star walked up to Tom and snatched the magazine from his hand. Tom just kind of stared at her, terrified of her breaking the thin lie that they were both skating on.

"Marco, can you tell me what this word is?" she asked, pointing at a word on the magazine's cover. Uh oh. It was time to take a shot in the dark.

"Umm, Love?" Marco guessed, and Star deflated. Tom wheezed out a held breath, and Marco realized he'd gotten it right.

Okay, it hadn't been a complete shot in the dark, at least. Marco had recognized the O.

"Oh, uh, wow, Tom," Star turned to him and she looked genuinely apologetic. "You really do care about Marco. I'm… sorry about yelling at you yesterday. I didn't realize I was making you feel worse."

Marco could swear there were tears in Tom's eyes.

"Oh, i-it's okay, I-"

Star interrupted him with a hug. For a moment, Tom was too surprised to move, but then he hugged her tightly in return.

Tom looked at Marco and mouthed a 'thank you' over Star's shoulder. Marco smiled and mouthed back 'your welcome'.

Star turned back to Marco once the hug was over.

"Alright, let's go home," she said.

"...Now?" Marco asked.

"Uh, yeah! You're awake, aren't you?"

Marco frowned. "I don't think hospitals work that way." They hadn't in Heckapoo's dimension, and he couldn't imagine it was much different here. "We should probably wait till tomorrow, when I get a clean bill of health." Not to mention the fact that he could use that as an excuse to not go to school.

Star groaned. "Tomorrow? That's so far away, though!"

"Not if you're asleep. I woke up, I'm okay. You should go get some sleep. I'll be here in the morning."

"I don't know…" Star scratched her cheek absentmindedly. "I don't really like the idea of leaving you alone all night…"

"I can stay," Tom offered. Star snuck a glance at Marco and he shrugged.

"Sounds good to me," Marco said.

"Star, you've been up since Marco passed out. Go get some sleep," Tom said. Star yawned. She _did_ look tired.

"Yeah… I guess you're right…" Star summoned her floating pink cloud. "I'll be here first thing in the morning, though!"

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

Star then looked like she forgot something. "Oh, and Marco?"

"Yeah?"

"If you... start remembering stuff about Earth, could you let me know?"

Marco wasn't sure why she asked that, but it was a simple enough request. "Sure. No Problem."

"Thank you! Bye, Marco! Bye, Tom!" She waved her hands and flew backwards out the window into the night sky.

"Bye," they both said. Once she was out of view, they were left in silence again.

"So, uh," Tom started, "Why did you lie to Star like that for me?"

"I figured you deserved a second chance."

"Oh. Thanks…" Tom smiled and sat down on the chair by the bed.

"No problem."

"Hey Marco, do you remember that time I said you were my least favorite person in the universe?"

"No?" Marco said. He tried to remember, but he barely had any memories of Tom in general.

"Well, I'm sorry," Tom picked at his pants absently. "And I wanted you to know you've just graduated to my second favorite person."

Marco smiled. "Thanks."

"So...what do you want to do?" Tom asked. "I you really want to, I could help you relearn English."

Marco thought on it. "Nah, not really in the mood, to be honest."

Marco tried to think of something they could do to fill the time. They could go back to talking about their feelings? No, he wasn't in the mood for that either.

"So, what exactly is a 'love sentence'?" Marco asked. The name of the magazine reminded him of a tribe he visited where the concept love was literally outlawed.

"Wait. You forgot what Love Sentence is? The best boy band in the multiverse?" Tom's face lit up like a rogue in a knife shop.

"As in, like, a band of adventurers?"

"Okay, I know what we're doing now. It's time to re-educate you on what _really_ matters."

Tom pulled out his phone again and started tapping with blistering speed. He pulled a long wire from his pocket. He connected one end to his phone, and handed another end to Marco.

"This is their very first hit. It's called 'Former Rivals'."

Tom put the wire into his ear and Marco copied him. Tom tapped the phone again and music started playing into Marco's ear. Huh, portable music. Neat.

It was only a minute or so into the song when Marco had a stark realization.

This was the worst music he'd ever listened to in his life.

Marco sighed. It was going to be a long night...


	10. Chapter 10: Everything

Marco and Tom spent several hours of the night listening to Love Sentence. They went through each song in release order, and in between each one, Tom would describe the cultural impact and hidden meanings behind the song they'd just listened to. Marco tried to act polite and look genuinely interested, but that patience had a limit. Every time a song ended, Marco would hope that it would be over, but it never was. Song after song of the same message regurgitated with slightly different lyrics. This was Marco's hell, which made Tom being a demon make all the more sense.

Marco eventually snapped and begged Tom to stop. Marco just couldn't see the appeal in these guys, and he was very concerned that he used to like their music. He wasn't even sure what the point of the prison theme was. The songs weren't about barely surviving another day, in a closed space of criminals who have nothing else to lose. How did they even go to jail? Those scrawny losers have obviously never been in a fight before. They had probably broken some disturbing-the-peace law with their grating voices. Marco had been to enough prisons to know that these guys would never last a day there.

He tried explaining all of this to Tom, who at first was hesitant to seriously consider what he was saying. He was kinda worried Tom would get mad, and there were definitely points where he was probably considering flipping Marco's bed.

Tom kept his cool, though, and said it was okay if Marco didn't like them anymore. As he was putting his phone and the wires back in his pockets, Marco offhandedly mentioned how he was a prisoner once. This piqued Tom's interest, who asked if Marco was willing to retell his experience in the form of song.

This is how they spent the rest of the night: passionately writing a song together.

At first, Marco wasn't sure of the idea, but then Tom told him that he had placed a sound-proof aura around the room, preventing anyone in the hallway from hearing them. That explained why no one had heard Tom screaming or him ringing the black bell before. This convinced Marco, so Tom momentarily left so he could retrieve his electric guitar.

When he returned, Tom admitted that he had just started learning how to play, so he wasn't very good, but Marco didn't mind. Marco asked what the song should specifically be about, and Tom suggested it be when he first got caught and brought in.

Of course, Marco's entrance to Ennio Prison was anything but conventional. He wasn't put in there by force. He wanted to get in because there was a Heckapoo clone inside. In fact, Ennio was anything but conventional. It didn't house criminals. It housed any survivors left from Mirria who could potentially spread the 'disease.' Marco was thought to be a carrier of said disease, so gaining entry was as simple as walking up to the front door.

For the sake of not having to explain all of that, though, Marco decided to make the story more simple. Instead of Ennio being this morally gray kingdom that was only trying to protect the rest of the world via severely questionable means, it was now a place run by evil tyrants. Marco was the noble warrior hero who lead a great rebellion, but was captured and put in a prison with a bunch of criminals who definitely still had all their limbs intact. Tom ate it up.

But Tom wanted actual details, and Marco couldn't just make those up.

Thus, Marco described Ennio in as much detail as possible. He mentioned how there weren't any prison cells in Ennio. It was just a wide-open courtyard surrounded by stone walls. The guards rarely interacted with the prisoners. They would always stay atop the walls and surveil everything below from a safe distance. They were told to only use their arrows in the event of prisoners trying to escape by either climbing or digging under the walls. Literally everything else the prisoners did was fair game.

This made Ennio a living nightmare for those on ground level. Fights would break out all the time and rivaling gangs would form. Marco was pretty tough at this point, so he managed to be fine on his own, but anyone who wasn't affiliated with a group were easy targets. Most new prisoners would lose their assigned blankets and even their clothes to those who had more experience with their newfound 'abilities.'

The Guards were never bothered to act upon these 'squabbles', leaving the weaker prisoners defenseless and stripped of everything they had. Ennio was completely exposed to the elements, meaning that those without any sort of protection were most likely dead before winter's end.

While constantly living outdoors only mattered during colder seasons or while it was raining, food was a constant problem. Bidaily, a crate of food would be hovered down by wizards, and that's when Ennio was a real madhouse. Men would strike and trample over each other to collect as much food as they could and bring it back to their leaders to prove their worth. Some tried using the chaos of this event to try and escape, but it never worked out for them. Often, prisoners would attempt escape simply _because_ they knew it would end their suffering. The unknown of death was better than the hell they were in.

Fights would even occur for possession of things like corpses, as they made great material for keeping bonfires going, and good food for those who get couldn't get any during mealtime.

Whenever an actual sickness starting spreading, the guards would freak out and begin shooting at anyone who slightly coughed. Often during these times, people would kick up dirt in an attempt to thin the crowds. Less prisoners meant less competition.

While Marco rarely saw them, there apparently were many women and children present in Ennio. They must not have lasted long, though. Heckapoo was the only woman he had ever seen more than once in there.

Marco remembered a time when-

When Marco realized he was rambling. He turned to Tom, who was supposed to be taking notes, but was instead staring at Marco with his mouth agape. Perhaps he went into _too_ much detail. Marco quickly tried to convince Tom that he added in a lot of that stuff to make it more interesting.

After getting over the initial shock, Tom asked Marco which of those things he said were real or made up.

Marco nervously gulped and said, "All of it was made up. It was just a standard run-of-the-mill prison."

Tom's expression softened. While he looked far from convinced by Marco's words, Tom decided not to press him any further.

Marco sighed. Of course he hadn't wanted the real truth. No one ever did. If someone like Tom couldn't handle it, then how would Star or Jackie react? Remembering how Jackie was expecting him to explain 'everything' to her worried Marco.

He decided to put those thoughts on hold til tomorrow (or, um, later today? He still had no clue what time it was).

Tom suggested perhaps writing the song about his kingdom's prisons for demons instead.

Marco approved of the idea, so now it was Tom's turn to describe a penitentiary. Marco wrote down everything Tom said, in Riradesh. They had a good laugh about it later in the night. Tom's verbal illustration of his dimension's prisons made it seem a lot more tame than Ennio, albeit with more fire and brimstone.

They eventually choose to have the song star Thomifat, and it would be about his struggle for respect in prison after having been beaten by a human. The poor guy. The name-calling, getting his wings pulled by others, and sitting on smoldering coals that were placed on his bed while he wasn't looking. Despite being hundreds of years old, he can never seem to escape the same type of bullying he had received in Demon High School. It really makes you wonder who the real demons are.

It was perfect.

The two were cranking out lyrics at an alarming speed. While the song was originally meant to be taken seriously, the hatred and lack of sympathy the two had for Thomifat slowly gave the song a more comedic tone, but that at least helped eased the tension Marco and Tom had felt earlier.

Tom had to remind Marco occasionally that the words at the end of verses had to rhyme, but Marco felt like he was getting the hang of it. Tom would also try to find the perfect melody on his guitar to go with the song, and there were at least four instances of the two fighting for the right to be lead singer.

It was probably the most fun Marco had since coming back to Earth.

The sky outside started to lighten with the sunrise, and they both realized nurses would be coming in soon. Tom quickly rung his bell and was pacing around the room until the black carriage arrived. Once it did, Tom waved Marco goodbye and told him they'd finish the song another day. He jumped out the window and into the carriage, just a moment before the door opened.

A nurse walked in and met eyes with Marco, who was quickly closing the window.

"Oh. You're awake now?" she asked as she put the breakfast tray she had onto the table.

"Uh, yeah," Marco said. The nurse walked over to him and started looking him over.

"How are you feeling? Thirsty, dizzy, disoriented? Come sit down." The nurse nervously led him to the bed, and he realized she must be new at this. She awkwardly pointed a little light into Marco's eyes to get a good look at them. The way she was treating him kind of made Marco feel like a child. A feeling that would probably be common for now on...

"I feel fine," Marco said, "I'm a little thirsty, though."

"Oh, yes, of course!" She ran back over to the tray and pulled a cup off of it. The nurse brought it over to him and handed it to him gently. "S-sorry about that."

"Uh, no problem," Marco said. He drank the water in the cup and looked back at the nurse as she fidgeted with the machines near the bed.

She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't place who it was. He frowned when no names came to mind.

"Hey, what's your name?" Marco asked, like knowing her name might help him find the person in his memory.

"Oh, uh, sorry. I never introduced myself!" She haphazardly dusted her shirt off and straightened herself up. "I'm Rachel. I'll be your nurse this morning!"

Marco smiled. "Nice to meet you. My name's Marco."

"Oh, yeah. Marco Ubaldo Diaz, right?"

Marco frowned. Had he done something in this dimension big enough for people to know him by name? Did he know this woman personally? That would explain his sense of nostalgia. But if that was the case, then why did she introduce herself-

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Rachel interrupted his thoughts. "I didn't mean to be so informal. Your name was just on my clipboard!" She scratched her head anxiously.

"Oh," Marco said. "Okay."

Rachel just kind of stood there for a moment, unsure what to do with herself. Then, she ran back over to her tray and picked it up.

"Hungry?" she asked.

Marco shook his head.

"Okay." She put the tray down next to his bed. "I'll just go notify the doctor's and your family that you're up, then. You can just eat that if you get hungry."

She walked to the door and stopped short.

"I forgot! Has your… arm been feeling okay since you've woken up?"

"Um, yeah. Don't worry about it. It feels good as new after that game ended," Marco said.

Rachel looked at him confused. Did he say something wrong? Marco assumed that Star or Jackie had told them what had happened but it looks like that wasn't the case. Marco fumbled a little. Damn, less than a minute in and he already made himself look like a crazy person.

Marco opened his mouth to respond but Rachel held her hand up.

"I'm glad that's the case! Just, please don't leave your bed anymore unless you have to go to the bathroom. You should keep physical activity at a minimum until we find out what's wrong with you."

"What's… wrong with me?" Marco frowned in confusion. Did the game have left over side effects? Had turning back to a teenager screwed his body up beyond recognition? Maybe it was something he'd done to himself in his quests that he'd forgotten about? Whatever is was, Rachel looked like she was ready to slap herself for saying that.

"Don't worry about it! We just need to make sure you're in good enough condition to leave. You look perfectly fine on the outside though, so like, no pressure."

On the outside? Marco raised an eyebrow. Rachel avoided looking at him and glanced at her braclet.

"I need to check on the other patients. Just use the button to your left if you need anything." Before Marco could say anything else, she escaped into the hallway.

Marco sighed and layed back down on the bed. He still couldn't place who it was she reminded him of. Maybe it would come to him later.

Marco stared at the ceiling and began thinking about what Rachel had told him. While she seemed like a nice person, she was definitely trying to hide Marco's condition, and that bothered the hell out of him. Doctors in Heckapoo's dimension were a lot more straight to the point, as they only cared about getting your gold, and your status as living or not didn't change that. While that seemed harsh, there was a certain comfort in having all the details put out in front of you, instead of them withholding information for your sake, making you more nervous in the process.

But then he remembered that, to them, he was still a 14 year old. He was still at that age where your parents were trying to convince you that the world was a good place, that it wasn't a constant battle of you trying to outperform others and remain at the top of the food chain. They wanted to preserve what little hope you had left, before the realization hit you that you're just another speck in the multiverse, and that hope was annihilated in one fell swoop. No one was special in the end.

And the world wasn't equal, either. Millions of children were born with handicaps that guaranteed lifelong struggle. They would always be told how brave they were for fighting through their limitations, but it wasn't like they had a choice. They _had_ to fight through it. It was the only way they were going to get any kind of chance at real happiness, while at the same time going against people who were better than them from the start.

Marco forgot a lot about Earth culture, but he at least remembered that you were supposed to go to College after High School, and it wasn't given away for free. He was told by his parents early on that he needed to do well in High School so he could get accepted into a college, get a good job, and make enough to raise a family. Marco had no idea what his standing in his classes were now, but considering how he forgot to read, he had no hope of passing, let alone 'doing well.' Even the worst students in his school could at least read.

In the grand scheme of things, Heckapoo's dimension and Earth weren't that different after all. They just had different values for their "survival of the fittest" mentalities. After all the time he spend away, he'd gone back to nothing. Was his life doomed already at 14 years? Was coming back just a big mistake?

What was probably the worst part of this was that he already _knew_ how much the world sucked. No matter how much his friends and parents and nurses tried to soften the blow. He knew that one slip and he could be dooming his entire existence. One accident could blow out the candle that was his life. He'd been too close to having that flame disappear, far too many times. He'd seen others blown out far too many times.

Sometimes all it took was a harsh wind...

Suddenly the rare but unmistakeable sound of a portal opening up resounded beside him.

Heckapoo? Was she here to offer him a way back?

It wasn't one of her portals, though. It was a normal one. A arm cautiously poked out of the portal, flailing aimlessly as if it was trying to find something to hold on to. After a moment, the arm receded into the portal, and Jackie Lynn Thomas stepped out. She tumbled down in surprise, as the portal was a few feet off the ground.

"Jackie?" Marco leaned forward and saw her face flat on the ground. "Are you okay?"

Jackie got back up pretty quickly and rubbed her head.

She smiled as she walked towards Marco and handed him his dimensional scissors.

"I can't believe that actually worked." Jackie looked pretty proud of herself. Oh yeah, he'd given her the scissors to defeat Thomifat.

"Have you been using these?" Marco asked. He examined his scissors to make sure they weren't damaged.

"Yeah, just to rob a few banks here and there. I decided I'll use half of that money to pay for your hospital bills. It only seemed fair."

"Jackie!" Marco said. "That's a complete misuse of the scissors! Do you want them to get confiscated!?"

"Okay Mom," Jackie said playfully. "I'm kidding. Actually, I've kinda been afraid to even touch these things since that game. But once Star texted me this morning that you're awake, I, uh, wanted to see you as soon as possible."

"Oh. Sorry about that," Marco said, a little embarrassed. It was kind of hard for him to realize when she was joking with him or not, since he rarely knew Jackie to begin with. Still, he should have known better anyway.

Jackie didn't seem very offended. "It's chill, dude. Although, we _could_ do a lot of neat stuff with those. I already have a few skateboard tricks in mind. I'd need a few cameras set up in completely different countries, though."

Marco chuckled. Now _that_ was something he clearly remembered about Jackie. Of all the things he still remembered about his crush during his sixteen years, they were that 1) Jackie likes to skateboard, and 2) She's really, really, hot. There was, of course, way more to Jackie than that, but Marco's infatuation with Jackie at a young age was always somewhat one-dimensional. He hadn't really known anything about her. She had always just been this ideological person that he had made up in his mind. Apart from her "cool persona", he'd had nothing to base his feelings off of.

"You okay?" Jackie interrupted his thoughts. She was staring at him.

"Oh. Uh, yeah." He frowned and bit his lip.

Jackie looked around the room briefly as if she was searching for a topic to talk about, and it hit her when her eyes rested on the scissors again.

"So, are those Star's, or...?" Jackie said as she pointed to them. Marco wasn't sure how to answer that.

"It's complicated," he said, and Jackie laughed.

"Of course it is. What, do you guys have joint custody over them?"

"Something like that."

"Figures. I would've given them to Star, but when the game ended, everyone was so preoccupied with getting you to the hospital, and I was pretty worried about my eye, cause I couldn't see out of it or anything, and-"

"It's fine. Really. We weren't supposed to have them anyway. We're grounded from them."

"Woah. Why?"

"That's part of the 'everything' I still have to explain…" Marco said with a sigh. Jackie bit her lip.

"You could explain it now, you know."

Marco thought about it. He probably should tell his parents and Star about it, too. He didn't want to get into it now, so that was the perfect excuse.

"I'll tell you when my parents get here. This is something everyone needs to know."

Jackie frowned. After a moment, she seemed to realize just how important this was, and she shrugged. "Alright. Fine by me."

There was a long silence and Jackie decided to change the subject.

"You were really awesome during the game, by the way," she said. "I saw the whole thing with that weird eye-goop. How'd you know you could just run through the fire like that?"

"Past experience," Marco said. It was true. The first time hadn't been on purpose, but the human body could withstand a _lot_.

"You're really cool, Marco. I've never really seen that side of you before."

"I'm not sure that side _existed_ before," Marco said. He had probably jumped into danger a little before Heckapoo's challenge, but it was nothing compared to what had become the norm by the end of it.

"Either way, it was freaking crazy." Jackie's eyes twinkled a little. "I never could have imagined something like that happening in my life."

"Oh, by the way. I talked to Tom about it before you came here. He's really sorry about that whole thing happening."

"Really? He didn't seem like he was. When you passed out, everyone was hovering over you except for him. He was just in a corner swearing at the mask."

"Yeah, but he's-" Marco stopped himself from saying complicated. "-got a lot of issues. He really just wanted to impress us, and he felt embarrassed that he was the first one to lose. It eventually dawned on him how dangerous it really was."

"I guess there's more to people than how they present themselves," Jackie said.

"I guess so," Marco replied.

Jackie looked down for a few seconds before figuring out what she wanted to say. It was clear that this was just as awkward for her as it was for Marco. She probably hadn't planned on Marco delaying his explanation _again_ , and without that context as to what was really going on, he was still a giant mystery that she didn't know how to interact with. Honestly, what _could_ they talk about?

"I kinda feel like there's been a lot on your mind recently, Marco. Like, whatever this 'everything' is, you have this idea that it's gonna change how everyone sees you, and you've been trying your best to act like everything's cool."

Marco didn't expect such a spot-on observation. She could read him like a book. Jackie placed her hand on Marco's. He tensed a little at the touch.

"I think I really like you, Marco, but I want to know the _real_ you. That day where you literally told all your deepest secrets to me in front of everyone, while unsettling at first, made you the first guy I felt like I could trust."

Marco was going to say how he didn't remember that day, but he decided instead to let Jackie keep talking. He was curious where she was going with this.

"Despite that though, it feels like you were still holding back. You shouldn't have to hide the real you from everyone, and you shouldn't convince yourself to live a lie either."

Marco nodded in agreement. He wanted to pretend like Heckapoo didn't happen. He wanted to go back to his 14-year-old self, but he'd failed miserably. Acting only made everyone else uncomfortable. They could tell how disingenuous it was. He needed to be the person he became, not the person everyone remembered him as.

Jackie took a few seconds before continuing. "I mean, yeah, I was a little sad that you didn't like kissing me, but I totally get it! I'm perfectly fine with just being your friend."

Wait, what was she-

"And, if you want, I can help find the right guy for you. You're pretty handsome so it shouldn't be that hard…"

No, she wasn't…

Before that conversation could take it's logical conclusion, the window was burst open by Star, who was once again on her pink cloud. Janna was right next to her.

Oh thank God.

Star leaped off the cloud and seemed ready to give Marco another hug, but dropped her hands once she realized that Jackie was there as well.

"Jackie! I didn't think you'd get here so fast," Star said, with what seemed like a tint of disappointment in her expression.

"Hey, Star. Hey, Janna. Yeah, I just used those scissors to get here," Jackie said, lifting up Marco's hand, which was holding said scissors.

"Yeah, those things are really cool. Star let me borrow them once, and I had a field day in Marco's room," Janna said, keeping a straight face. Star and Jackie ignored her comment and Marco glanced at her. He didn't know whether to be creeped out or not.

Star frowned and looked embarrassed. "Oh gosh, I completely forgot about those."

"Yeah, I kinda did, too, with all the craziness after the game. I took them home with me by accident, and then I didn't really know how to give them back, and then I got the text that Marco was awake so I figured I'd use them to come here."

"Oh, great," Star said, and Marco could hear some anxiety in her voice. "Wouldn't wanna lose those. They're super duper important. I literally can't go home without them."

"Sorry," Jackie said. She looked a little like a kicked puppy.

"It's okay," Marco said. "So long as you returned them. Right, Star?"

"Oh, um, yeah," Star said.

"Hey, Diaz, look on the bright side," Janna cut in. "At least you get to cut school again today. That'll probably saved you a lot of embarrassment."

Star promptly stepped on her foot.

"Star! I was being subtle enough!"

"Uh. What's going on?" Jackie said, and Marco wanted to slam his face into the wall.

"You weren't supposed to see that, Jackie," Star explained. Janna was rubbing her foot.

Jackie looked between the two and then back at Marco, who was now trying to rub a headache away.

"It's complicated," Marco said before she could even ask. Her eye twitched and Marco realized he was one vague excuse short of being slapped. "You'll understand when I explain everything. To _everyone_."

"Wait, so you're finally going to spill the beans? Wasn't this some big secret?" Janna asked. Marco shrugged.

"That hasn't really been working for me."

"Well," Jackie said, "I might have _some_ sort of an idea what it is."

"No." If the insinuation she was headed towards earlier was any indication, "Your idea is completely off, trust me."

"Wait, what idea?" Star asked.

"So I was thinking that Marco-"

"Where're Ferguson and Alfonso?" Marco interrupted. Jackie frowned at him, but Star's face lit up in epiphany at the question.

"Oh yeah! They couldn't stay today after cutting yesterday, so they just left a present under your bed." Star reached under the bed and pulled a T-shirt out. "It says 'Demon Buster' on it! They made it themselves."

She handed it to Marco, and he was relieved she'd fit what it said into the conversation so well. It wasn't even obvious that she had to read it to him.

The writing looked cool, and there was this art of the mask underneath the words that was actually nice looking. He'd have to remind himself not to wear this in front of Tom, though. From his perspective, it's probably an offensive shirt.

"They also made themselves matching T-shirts that say 'Demon Victim' on them, too."

Marco laughed. That was such a stupid thing to put on a shirt. He figured that this was probably why he was friends with them in the first place. Then it hit him what she'd said earlier.

"Wait, they skipped school yesterday?" he asked.

"Yeah. We all did," Jackie said with a shrug.

"And we're skipping today," Janna added.

"But what about your futures? You can't just skip school because I'm asleep."

"It's just a couple days," Janna said. "Besides, I don't care about my grades. After I graduate high school, I'm gonna be a professional ghost hunter! Scamming the poor saps who actually believe in that stuff."

"Yeah, and I'm going to be a queen on Mewni. They don't even _have_ school there," Star said.

"I'm pretty sure you don't need a degree to skateboard." Jackie shrugged.

"Also we're Freshman," Janna added. "We have least three more years of screwing around without consequence."

Marco stared at them. None of them planned to do anything with their schooling. As the adult in the room, he felt a compulsive need to tell these teenagers that this was the wrong perspective to have on school, but Marco thought about for a second and maybe _he_ was the one in the wrong. Could he really build a future for himself on Earth without college? Maybe he believed he had Earth figured out too early. He smiled.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Before anyone told them to, his parents walked in.

"Marco!" they said in unison, and then ran up to him and hugged him tightly.

Marco couldn't breathe.

"Oh yeah. I forgot to mention your parents were on the way," Star said.

"Thanks. It's really nice to know these things ahead of time," Marco said sarcastically, through the hug. "I'm fine. Really," he told his parents.

They pulled away from the hug and looked him over. Then they started asking rapid-fire questions about how he was doing. Marco missed most of the questions in the flurry of them both asking different questions at the same time, but he caught "Did you sleep well?" and "Did they give you enough for breakfast?" and he burst out laughing.

His parents pulled back a little and shut up when his laugh continued. It was just that they were asking such arbitrary questions. No one had ever asked him if he slept well after he'd been through a battle. Usually, no one would even ask if he was okay. They just cared if he was still alive or not. But here were his parents, fussing over all the little things.

He didn't realize how much he missed them.

"Marco, you're crying, dear. What's wrong?" his mom asked. He wiped a tear from his eye. Oh, he guessed he _was_ crying.

"Nothing. I just love you guys so much," he said, and his parents hugged him again.

"We love you too!" his dad said, and he felt like his spine was going to pop from how tight their embrace was.

Eventually, the hug ended and Marco was left facing his parents again.

"What's with this all of a sudden?" his mom asked. "This is almost as bad as the other night."

Well, she was right about that. The night he'd come back with Star, just seeing his parents had brought him to his knees. He was still getting used to having people who cared about him around.

"Sorry…" he said.

"It's okay. We're just wondering what happened to you."

Marco frowned. That was probably his queue to explain, but it was so hard to get himself to start.

"Wait, are those Star's scissors?" Oh. Crap.

"Did this all happen because you guys were using them behind our back?" his dad asked. He crossed his arms in disappointment. Marco fumbled over his thoughts. How was he supposed to explain Mask Tag to them?

"No," Jackie interrupted. "I'm the one who used the scissors, Mr. Diaz. I'm sorry."

They looked her over and frowned. "So, then why did you pass out?" his mom asked Marco.

"Oh. That's easy. I was awake for like a week straight," Marco said.

Everyone except Star looked at him bugged-eyed. Oops.

"Marco, are you addicted to… coffee?" his dad whispered, as if coffee was the new drug on the streets.

"No, no. Not a week straight on Earth. I mean, the other place." Marco tried his best to present this information with an assuring smile.

"What 'other place'?" Jackie asked.

"The other dimension I was trapped in!" Marco said. He was done trying to beat around the bush. Jackie stared wide eyed at him.

"What?" she asked.

"I'll explain later."

"Wait, honey, how long were you actually in there?" his mom asked. They were probably assuming it had been a day or two.

"A really long time?" Marco said.

"How long?" Jackie asked. Marco groaned.

"Alright. This'll be easier if I just tell you all everything at the same time," he said, aggravated. Fuck it. They needed to know. "Grab a chair, because you're all in for a long ride."

Without any other direction, Star, Jackie, Janna, and Marco's parents all grabbed chairs and pulled them up to the bed. Everyone had their eyes on him in anticipation, and Marco felt the pressure of being able to tell his story well.

"It's a _really_ long story, so you guys can't interrupt me, okay?"

"But what if you don't explain something well enough?" Janna interrupted.

"Then ask at the end."

"Will there be a quiz at the end? Should I take notes?" Janna asked, and Marco shot a glare at her. She promptly shut her mouth.

"So, can I start?" he asked, and the room answered with "mhmm"s and nods. No one took their eyes off him. They'd all been waiting for this since he came back.

Marco took a slow, stabilizing breath.

"Okay, so it all started when Heckapoo, this demi-god with a flame above her head, took me into her dimension," Marco said. "She took Star's dimensional scissors, which really belonged to her, and told me that the only way I could get a new pair was if I earned them by completing a quest."

Everyone was still silent, taking the story in.

"The quest was simple. I just had to blow out the flame above her head. But just when I thought I had done it, she revealed that she had hundreds of clones, and only blowing out the real Heckapoo would complete the quest. She scattered across this whole dimension and she offered me a one way trip home."

He should have taken it while he could.

"I was stubborn, and the idea of finding Heckapoo and blowing out her flame didn't seem too hard, so I denied the offer. That was the last time I got a chance to go home."

Everyone was on the edge of their seats and Marco felt a little flustered at the fact that he was apparently a good storyteller.

"So, I followed one of them and ended up in a dangerous forest. I spent six months in that forest with only my wits and a traveling merchant named Toza. When I finally blew out the flame of the Heckapoo who stayed there, Toza directed me to a nearby guild led by another one of them."

When his parents heard him say "six months", their faces dawned in realization. They definitely hadn't imagined he was gone for that long. They were in for a surprise.

"So, Toza taught me how to write and count in Riradesh and I joined the guild so I could work my way up and blow out her flame-"

"What's Riradesh?" Jackie said, before she realized she broke Marco's only rule.

"It's that dimension's written language."

"Oh, okay. Sorry."

Marco frowned, but continued. "Anyway, along the way, I met Allion of Zonst, who was this rogue in the guild, and she taught me everything she knew. We eventually dated for five years."

His parents looked like they'd been shot. His dad actually gripped his heart dramatically. Star and Jackie were just staring at him, a little slack-jawed, and Janna looked almost impressed. Everyone remained quiet, though. They needed to hear the rest. Marco took a deep breath before he started talking again.

"I blew out the flame of the Heckapoo in charge of the guild, and that kind of put _me_ in charge, instead. So, I used my powers as guildmaster to track down Heckapoo clones all around and hunt them down. I would send out Zonst scouts and spies to locate them, and then I'd go chase them myself. I probably blew out almost thirty-five flames while I was guildmaster of Zonst."

Here was where things got harder.

"Almost a year into being guildmaster, Allion and I discovered a conspiracy among the council of guildmasters. The majority of the guildmasters there were working under one man. We were able to stop him and retore the balance of power, but…"

 _"You were always just a pawn." Allion's lifeless body fell to ground and Scarion turned to Marco._

"Allion didn't make it."

Star looked like she wanted to give him a hug. He would probably need it by the time he was done. Any short term solutions were welcome. It would only be worse from here on out, Star.

"So, I was guildmaster for a few more years, and during that time I waged a war against a neighboring kingdom."

"Did you win?" his mother asked. Her eyes were tearing up.

Marco remembered Tom's face when he told him about Ennio. They didn't want the truth...

"Yes," Marco lied.

Janna gave him a look, and Marco realized that she could tell he was lying. She didn't say anything, though, and everyone else seemed to buy it.

"After that, I went out hunting Heckapoo clones again, and I-"

"What about the guild?" Jackie asked.

Marco frowned. He forgot to mention that Zonst wasn't really involved in the war. He kind of took on that particular kingdom on his own. Once it was over he never did go back to Qur Don. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, though. He wasn't going to take the time to explain how he ended up in Mirria.

"I, uh, left the guild to focus more on my quest."

This time, Star gave him the look. Pretending he didn't see it, Marco continued.

"So, uh, then there was a Heckapoo clone in a prison, so I got myself in and found her and then I got myself out."

"How long were you in there?" his father asked.

"A year or two."

Everyone looked like they were about to cry.

 _"Move it along, Freak."_

"It wasn't that bad," Marco said, and everyone in the room gave him that incredulous stare. The fact that they only looked sadder made it worse.

Marco frowned. This was still better than telling them the truth. They deserved that mercy, at least.

"I'm okay. Really. I'd just rather not talk about it."

It didn't seem to ease anyone's fears, but they stayed silent, so Marco continued.

"When I got out of prison, I became a nomad. I roamed through villages and towns and tracked down almost every clone in the dimension. Along the way, I saved people from pirates and raiders and the occasional monster. I finally saw the real Heckapoo, after about half a decade in, but she got away from me."

You could cut the tension in the air with a rusted knife.

"I had to track her down, and I knew there was an Ancient Tongue ritual to do it, so I went on a quest to find the dimensional scholars who could teach me it. After that, I used the ritual and I found her and got my pair of dimensional scissors."

No one was moving an inch.

"And then Star came and found me and told me it had been only a few minutes back on Earth. We came back, and I was back to being a teenager, like none of it had happened. And then it was all too much, so I couldn't sleep, and I realized I couldn't read English anymore and I couldn't even remember half the people in my life back here, and last night I realized that I can't even count in Earth numbers. Like, why do you guys only have nine numbers before ten? It makes no sense, logistically."

Everyone just kind of stared blankly at him. He guessed that it was kind of a lot to take in.

"Uh, any questions?" Marco asked. He felt like he was being judged or something.

There was a beat, and then everyone raised their hands like they were in a classroom.

Marco chose randomly. "Star?"

"So where did Nachos fit into the picture?" she asked. His parents turned to her.

"Star, now's not the time for jokes."

"No. It's okay," Marco said. "Nachos is just my dragon-cycle."

They didn't look convinced that it still wasn't a joke.

"I got Nachos from a villager I'd saved. He had this egg that he'd won from a wizard, but the only way to hatch it was to bring it to a volcano and drop it in while the moon was full and at its peak. It was easy for me to do, so he gave me the egg and after I hatched it, a dragon came out and I had to take care of it for like a month. It was really tiring and tedious at first, but dragons in that dimension start to shift into the ideal steed for their caretaker, so she turned into a motorcycle, because I get motion sickness from anything that isn't a bike. She really sped up the last stretch of the chase, and Heckapoo's taking care of her now. In hindsight, that was one of the highlights."

"Wait," Marco's mom said, "you mean you gave her to the same demon thing you were hunting down that whole time?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. We kinda became friends at some point." Not to mention the fact that they dated for a bit. But that was a clone. It was different.

"So this thing took you away from us for years, and you befriended it?" his dad asked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure she's immortal, so sixteen years is like a playdate for her."

"S-sixteen years?" his dad said. Oh, had he forgotten to mention how long it was?

"I think I'm going to faint…" His mom wobbled a bit and then fell into his dad's arms.

"Sorry," Marco said. He felt so bad for them. Their precious little baby got turned into a battle-hardened warrior, who was almost as old as them, overnight.

"N-no, it's okay, son," his dad said. "It's not your fault." It _was_ his fault, but that wasn't the point.

"Uh. Okay." Marco searched for a change in subject. "Uh, Janna, you had your hand up, right?"

"Yeah. Whatever happened to Toza?" Janna asked.

 _Toza desperately scrambled away. "Marco, stop, please! This isn't you!"_

"He left," Marco said. "Now, uh, Jackie! Your turn."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course I'm-" Marco stopped short.

Everyone was staring at him, tears coating the edges of their eyes. They wanted the truth. They wanted to _help_. Marco took in a shuddering breath.

"No. I'm not okay."


	11. Chapter 11: Nine Remaining

The room stared silently at Marco. Everyone starting to get teary-eyed, so Marco decided to try to change the subject again.

"Uh, any other questions?"

Star shot her hand up immediately.

"Yes, Star?"

"Yeah, can we give you a hug?" Star asked.

Marco frowned. He _already_ regretted saying that he wasn't okay. He had wanted them to understand, but now they just seemed more worried than ever.

"I, uh." Should he just go back on his word? Was he already past the point of no return?

One look at the faces of his friends and family said it all. If he pulled back now, they'd know he was lying. It would only make things worse.

"Yeah, sure," he said. There was a pause before anyone moved, but then they all moved at once.

Everyone huddled around Marco protectively. For a moment, Marco was worried he'd be crushed by the weight of everyone's support, considering how the hug from his parents before had been enough to crack his spine.

But Marco didn't feel any pressure as they wrapped around him. His dad put his arm around his back while the girls softly touched or held onto a part of his body. Marco's mom and Jackie each had a grip on a hand while Janna held Marco's hip. Star didn't really have anything else to cradle, with everyone else in the way, so she rested her forehead on Marco's.

They were being so gentle that Marco felt like some glass statue. They were afraid of him shattering into a million pieces.

Eventually, they all let go and looked at one another, unsure of where to go from here.

Marco's mom turned to his father. "Oh Rafael. What are we going to do?"

His dad wiped a tear from his eye.

"Don't worry, Honey. We're going to get through this together. We'll get the best therapist money can buy." His dad thought for a second. "And we'll also get a tutor, to teach him how to write again. Whatever it takes to help our son!"

"What? I don't need therapy," Marco said. That seemed ridiculous. There wasn't anyone on Earth who could help Marco in that regard, especially since he was the first human to ever earn scissors from Heckapoo. Marco was in a league of his own. No human in this entire dimension could relate to him.

No one else seemed to agree though. They all shared surprised and confused looks.

"Marco, you clearly need to talk to _some_ sort of professional," his mom said. "With the amount of trauma you must have gone through, it's a surprise you're even talking right now."

"Yeah, but I turned out fine," Marco said. It's not like he was some helpless victim. He managed to move on from a lot of things, without the help of some _therapist_.

"Dude, you're in a hospital right now because you didn't sleep for a week," Jackie said bluntly.

"Not to mention, you kinda just admitted that you're not fine?" Janna said.

Marco scratched his head. "What I'm saying is, you can't just throw money at this and think the problem will go away. I don't want to talk to some stranger about it, I want to talk to you guys."

"And we _are_ talking," his mom said, putting her arms around Marco. "But I think we need to consider our options. We want to be _extra_ sure you're okay."

"I get that," Marco said. "I just don't trust some random person who's being _paid_ to listen to me. What if they decide to manipulate me or to trade out my secrets, or-" Marco stopped himself when he saw everyone's expressions.

Pity. Worry. Fear. This was what he'd been trying to prevent.

"I know I sound crazy and all, but those kinds of things have _actually_ happened to me when I've opened up to people." Every time Marco had tried talking to someone about his past, he'd immediately be chased out of whatever village he was staying in. He wasn't that stupid anymore. He had to limit this to friends and family only.

Marco looked up and noticed their stares again. They didn't know how to speak without breaking him. He felt like that pathetic boy who needed rescuing from the forest sixteen years ago.

"Alright, can we stop acting like I'm some fragile little child? I'm an adult now."

His mom flinched at the word. Marco tried to ignore her reaction.

"I can handle it."

Jackie and Star shuffled awkwardly.

"Please. Someone say something!"

"We just… don't know how to take all this in," Jackie said. "You're, like, this thirty year old badass suddenly, with a bunch of PTSD and trust issues, in the body of a teenage boy." Everyone around her nodded in agreement.

Marco was going to correct her, but nothing she said was _actually_ untrue. "Yeah, kinda."

Marco bit his tongue. He really needed to think before opening his mouth. They weren't getting it, and Marco was just making himself look worse.

He looked over at Star. She was the only person in this room who had actually _seen_ who he had become. The confident warrior who had just finished this impossible journey. He had never felt better than at that moment.

Had he kept his body going back to Earth, they wouldn't even be having this conversation. They would all just be so impressed at what a man their timid little Marco had become.

Star knew all this. She knew that he survived through everything and became stronger because of it. She just needed to tell everyone else that. Tell them how strong Marco looked, how ready he was.

"Star, when you came to pick me up from Heckapoo's dimension, you saw me, right? You saw me at my prime."

Star fidgeted a bit.

"Yeah, I saw you." She looked uncomfortable as all eyes turned towards her.

"And I looked great, right?"

"You looked… really tired," she said, "and scarred. Covered in scars. Lots of scars."

Marco frowned. That definitely wasn't what he wanted everyone to hear. Why would Star answer like that? His parents looked like they were about to cry again.

"But you were checking out my hot bod!"

"I mean, maybe a little, Marco, but I was in shock more than anything. I was just trying to understand what had happened. Trying to wrap my brain around the fact that this towering giant in front of me was my best friend from eight minutes ago."

"Star, you were staring at my abs."

Jackie lifted an eyebrow and Janna hid a smirk. Star had a confused look on her face.

"I was staring at the _scars_ on your abs, Marco."

Huh. Marco may have romanticized that whole encounter in his head. He should have known better, but for some reason he got the impression that Star was checking him out when she was ignoring his story and gazing at him. Now, Marco made himself look like some raging egomaniac.

Wait a second.

"But you called me beautiful."

"Okay, so maybe I _did_ blurt that out. But battle worn warriors are my type, you know? But then I got a better look at you..."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you think I was so happy to see you back to your old self on Earth? The older you looked kind of… scary."

Huh? Did he really intimidate Star that much?

"Marco? Looking scary? You sure you weren't just hallucinating, Star?" Janna asked, probably in an attempt to add levity to the situation.

"No, trust me, Janna," Star said. "He looked really hardcore. Like, there was blood on his jacket, and he had this _huge_ burn mark across his arm, and this one spot on his side was a little caved in, so it looked like he might have been missing some organs!"

Despite Star's excitement to describe Marco's battle scars and Janna's interest in them, the rest of the room tensed at this new information.

"You lost your organs?" Jackie asked.

"It wasn't anything important," Marco said. "And it's all back now, so it doesn't matter."

Apparently Marco said the wrong thing again, becausethey spoke out at once.

"Marco! You need to take this more seriously!" his dad said.

"Just how are you okay with this?" his mom said.

"Holy crap. That _is_ hardcore," Janna said.

"I'm pretty sure _all_ your organs are important," Jackie said.

Marco blinked. "You guys are missing the point. _Yes_ , I was 'covered in scars', but scars are just badges of things you've overcome. I used to hide them, until the day I realized that they were nothing to be ashamed of. Now I wear them them with honor." That is is, he _used_ to display them, but now that Marco was back in his Earth body, did he even have any honor?

"Are you sure you just didn't feel like going shirtless?" Janna asked.

"I'm sure, Janna."

"But, all those... battles you fought in. Didn't they bother you at all? Don't they _still_ bother you?" his mom asked.

"I mean, no one's made of steel, but each one was easier than the last. My first mission with the guild, for example, was pretty... eye-opening, to say the least. The Heckapoo running the guild knew who I was, so she was probably aiming to traumatize me as soon as possible. We had to rescue a Qur Don village from Blood Mages."

"What are Blood Mages?" Jackie asked.

"Did you eat breakfast?"

Jackie blinked. "Um, I did, but what-"

"Then you don't want to know. Every person I've described them to has thrown up."

Jackie promptly stepped back.

"Well that just makes me _more_ curious," Janna said. The rest of the room, while still cautious, seemed to have a morbid curiosity of their own. Marco had to change the subject before he would actually have to describe it to them.

"That's not the point," he said. " The point is that it was the first time I had to deal with so much blood and death. I wanted to run away after that first mission and hide back inside my forest, but Allion had survived through it with me, and she saw all the same death and destruction, and _she_ kept going. When they were counting survivors, she told me I had too much potential to just give up, so I stayed. I probably wouldn't have gotten the scissors if it wasn't for her."

"Counting _survivors_?" his mom whispered.

"I didn't realize she had such an impact on you," Jackie said.

Marco chose to answer the easier of the two questions.

"Uh, yeah. During my time there, she was my motivation to keep going, and her support helped me put battles behind me." Marco smiled. "On my first year anniversary of joining the guild, I told her how I wanted to extinguish our leader's flame. Allion said she had the same goal, so she believed the fact that we were together must've been destiny or something. She made me promise that defeating Heckapoo would be a competition between us. The winner would replace Heckapoo as guildmaster, while the loser would propose to the winner."

Marco heard his mother and Star say 'aww', while Jackie and Marco's dad shared shocked faces. Janna was the only one who maintained a neutral look.

"Marco, you were engaged to her?" his father's face of excitement then turned to anguish. "I'm so sorry."

"We never got engaged," Marco said, "Even though I was the one who became guildmaster, she never did propose to me. We kept dating, but it had always bothered me why she didn't keep her side of the promise. I was too afraid of offending her to ask." Of course, he eventually found out why, but he preferred keeping his memories of Allion pleasant.

"I'm sure she had a reason, dear," his mom said. "You were both young. She probably just didn't want to rush into things."

"Uh, yeah," Marco said, trying to act casual about it, "sure."

"How did you handle her passing?" his father asked.

"It was rough, but I eventually had to move on. I actually don't remember that much of the grieving period, since it was about ten years ago, but I guess it went about how you would expect." Drinking, crying, oversleeping, rage-induced pit fights. The usual widowy stuff. "My responsibilities as guildmaster were a priority though, so they were a nice distraction."

"What about when you _stopped_ being guildmaster?" Star asked. "Were there others things that could distract you from all the bad stuff that happened?"

Marco realized that they were now just going through his entire chronology with 'how did you deal with _this_ trauma?' questions, so Marco tried to make his answer as general as possible.

"Mostly I would try to focus on Heckapoo and Heckapoo only. I would spend years obsessively looking for any signs and traces of her clones. And whenever I actually found one, nothing else mattered. We'd be locked in combat and mind games for hours, days, weeks, and on special occurrences, months and years. Eventually just the thrill of another adventure made things irrelevant. There was no time to think about Allion or Mirria."

Marco realized just how cruel that sounded, but the thought was interrupted by Jackie.

"Mirria? Who's that?" Jackie asked. Marco mentally slapped himself. There was a reason he hadn't mentioned it in his story.

"It's nothing," he said, and everyone frowned. Crap. Now he would have to give _some_ sort of explanation. "It was part of that war I fought in."

 _Villagers desperately running as the ground beneath them crumbled. It was no use. They wouldn't make it._

Marco snapped out of it. There was a long moment where everyone was waiting for a longer explanation, but when he never gave one, Marco's mother spoke.

"So you used Heckapoo to block off those negative experiences?"

"More or less." Marco said.

"But since Heckapoo is out of the picture, what now?"

"I'll be honest, there were others who were close to me like Allion. Some are still alive, while others aren't, but they all had an impact on me. While I wish I could have done a lot of things differently, I believe that most wounds heal over time, and for the ones that don't, I block them off."

Some of them winced at what Marco said, while others glared.

Were they… judging him?

"So, what? You're just going to decide which people are too inconvenient to think about and pretend they never existed?" Janna asked. Where did that come from?

"No, it's not like that," Marco said. "I'm just saying that some things should be kept in the past, that's all. The people themselves I'll never forget."

"Are you sure?" Jackie asked, still unconvinced, along with everyone else.

"What? Do you want proof? Throughout my journey I kept a diary that detailed all my adventures. Almost everything is in there," save for a _few_ torn out pages, "and I would occasionally reread it to remind myself of my accomplishments." And of his mistakes.

"Really? Where is it?" Star asked.

"I took it with me to Earth. It should still be in my jacket inside my room."

"Interesting," Janna said.

"Oh, yeah. There's also the tattoo on my back," Marco said. He'd almost forgotten about it.

"A tattoo?" his dad gulped.

"Yeah, it has the names of important people I lost throughout my journey, so they'd always be a part of me. Allion's on there and there's a bunch of other-"

Marco stopped.

It wouldn't be there anymore. Not after he returned to Earth.

"Marco? Are you okay?" Jackie asked.

A wave of disappointment sunk into Marco's stomach. That tattoo that had been on him for over a decade was gone now. He had several highly esteemed artists work on those, each name drawn in a way that reflected the owner's personality. Allion's name was drawn with fierce lines, while Oran's had his surrounded by the animals he held so dear. Tashren's name was bold and strong, like the final sword he crafted specifically for Marco. And Heckapoo's, well, hers was written in boiling gold.

He would never be able to recreate it, and attempting to do so would be downright disrespectful.

It was like every passing moment on Earth reminded Marco of how much he lost by going through that portal. All he had to show for it now was his scissors, but were they even worth it? It wasn't like he was using them to go on more exciting adventures to save more people. What was even the point of getting the scissors if he was just going to stay here? He was stuck on Earth now, being expected to go to Earth school like a good Earth boy and get a stupid Earth job to raise an Earth family. It was so _suffocating_.

Marco was then reminded of what Janna had told him two days ago, about how he'd most likely forget all the people from Heckapoo's dimension, just like he did with his Earth friends. He didn't take her words seriously at first, but now that the tattoo was gone, it seemed very possible, and that terrified Marco. Would that quest just be remembered as a bad dream? Did those people he see die not matter anymore now that he's back on Earth? Marco scrambled to remember all the names that were on his back. How many names were there again? 82 or 83? Dammit! It was already starting!

Marco put his hands on his face and started to hyperventilate. This was too much. His family and friends looming over him didn't help either. They weren't giving him enough room to breathe. Why wouldn't they give him some fucking space?

He was about to shout when his mother put her hand on his head.

"It's okay, honey. Let it all out."

Wait.

What?

Was she really expecting him to cry, in front of everyone? That was the last thing he needed to do. He'd been trying to prove how capable he was. If he cried now, it would prove he was an overly emotional teenager again. If he cried, he'd just be proving them all right, that he _wasn't_ okay, that he _couldn't_ handle it.

Marco sucked in an uneven breath. He could feel everyone's worried gazes. It was _obvious_ he wasn't okay.

If he sucked it up, if he pushed it all back down, they would know. They would know how much this hurt him, that he was just burying his feelings, and they would worry even more if they saw him do it again.

God, he wished he had some draconian ale right about now.

No, he wished he had his _old body_ right now.

His strength, his scars, his tattoos-

Marco felt it all bubble up in his throat and he let out a sob. Then, as if a dam broke, he started wholeheartedly crying.

He felt his cheeks soak with tears and a disgusting stream of snot come from his nose that was so bad he couldn't breathe out of it. He sobbed again and someone put his face against their shoulder and rubbed his back. He pulled the person tight against him into a hug and held on for dear life.

"It's okay. It'll be okay," his mom said, and he realized she was the one holding him. He sat there for a while, just crying into her shoulder.

Once his sobs calmed down enough for him to speak, he pulled his face away from her shoulder, but didn't let go from the hug.

"Sorry," he said. He wasn't sure if he was apologizing for ruining her shirt or ruining the memory of her son, but he needed to say it.

"Oh, honey, it's okay. There's no reason to apologize." She kept rubbing his back and there was no way he was about to ask her to stop.

"Thanks," he said, and hugged her tighter.

"For what?" she asked.

"Everything…" Marco said, and his mom placed a kiss on his forehead.

"My little boy," his dad said, and pulled him out of his mother's embrace to lift him up into a bear hug.

"Be careful," his mom said. "You don't want to hurt him."

"Oh, sorry." His dad laid him back on the bed.

Marco wiped his eyes and looked across the room. Everyone looked like a huge weight was off their shoulders. What? Did they expect him to break down like that? Had they taken bets on how soon he'd start crying like a child?

"Thank god," Janna said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "It's okay guys, he's still human."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"We were worried you were emotionally stunted or something," Jackie said.

"Like a robot," Star added.

"What? I'm not emotionally stunted," Marco said. His eyes were drying and his voice was raw.

"So, what, you were just holding it in the whole time?" Janna asked.

"Of course!" Marco said. "If I just started crying, you'd think I couldn't handle it!"

"Marco, _noone_ could handle what you went through," his dad said. "The fact that you _were_ handling it was what was worrying us."

"Wait, so breaking down and crying was the answer all along?" Marco asked. Had he been stepping on eggshells for nothing?

"Honey, you've always been a sensitive kid," his mom said.

"Yeah, you used to cry at least once a week," Star said.

"Seeing you so stoic was pretty creepy," Jackie said.

"Really?" Marco asked.

"Yeah. You were talking about _forgetting_ all these people who had died, and something about that just didn't sit right," Janna said, "and that's coming from _me_."

Marco chuckled. "I just didn't want you guys to see me as weak or treat me differently."

"Oh, you're definitely not weak," Star said. "You're, like, the toughest guy I know."

"And we're always going to treat you a _little_ differently, Marco," his dad said. "That's just part of growing up."

He supposed that was true. It would be impossible for him to ask that they treat him exactly the same as before he went on his quest, and he felt kinda bad for expecting it of them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Marco said. He felt better now. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a good cry, with friends and family around to help him through it, and he hadn't realized how much he needed it. Everyone was here to help him, and he would have to strip off his emotional shell if he wanted any of that help.

He took a deep breath. From then on, he should be more honest with them.

"What's wrong, Marco?" Star asked.

"I... kind of don't know where to go from here."

"Why do we have to go anywhere? You're at a hospital right now. Let's just worry about that for now," Jackie said.

"Jackie's right. Let's just make sure you're okay first," his dad said. "We can worry about all that big stuff later."

"I'm sorry if it was too early to talk about therapy, Marco," his mom said. "We can talk about that whenever you're comfortable."

"Thanks," Marco said. His voice was still raspy from crying.

"And you can take the rest of the week off from school, so you can take some time to adjust."

Marco sighed in relief. "Yeah, I think I need it."

He let out a dry cough.

His mom handed him a glass of water and he took a deep gulp.

"Better?" she asked.

"Yeah, thanks," Marco said.

"So, now that you're calmed down and acting like a human again," Jackie said, "I've been wondering about something."

"Yeah?"

There was a short pause where Jackie figured out how to word her question.

"Do you still _feel_ like an adult?" Jackie asked.

"Oh yeah," Janna said. "When you came back to Earth, did you suddenly feel stupider?"

Marco thought carefully about this. Janna's joke aside, he was definitely more mature now, but...

"I mean, what exactly constitutes _feeling_ like an adult?" Marco said. "People in this dimension always make a fuss about what age you have to be to be considered an adult, as if maturity happens overnight after some arbitrary amount of years has passed. The concept of adulthood didn't really exist in Heckapoo's dimension. It was just a giant cluster of people trying to survive. You started drinking as soon as you could afford alcohol, and you had kids whenever you had time to breathe. Adults and children in that dimension weren't as different from each other as they are in this dimension. No school or jobs to conveniently label them. People are just the culminations of past experiences that shape who they are. There's no age when that stops happening."

Boy, he was glad he drank that water.

There was a long pause, where everyone just kind of stared at him.

"Uh. Did you not want the philosophical answer?" Marco asked.

"Um, no, something a little more straightforward," Jackie said.

"Wait, Marco. Did you have children in that place?" his dad asked, looking concerned.

"What I… no. I didn't. I never had time to breathe." Although he did have money for alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol.

"Oh what a relief," Marco's mother said, wiping her forehead. At least that was _one_ thing they didn't have to worry about.

Marco sighed. "Anyway, I guess I don't feel like an adult in this body, because of how much smaller I became, but mentally I feel the same as I felt before I came back. If there's one thing that's preventing me from considering myself an adult, it's a lack of independence. I was on my own for a lot of my quest, but now that I'm back on Earth, I'm gonna have to rely on my parents for a lot of things now, and that definitely makes me feel like a child."

"I meant, like, was it creepy when we kissed?" Jackie asked.

"Oh, yes. Definitely," Marco said, realizing Jackie had meant for that question to be about the kiss all along.

"Wait, you guys kissed?" Star said.

"Yeah," Jackie said with a frown. "I kind of… forced it on him though."

Star was counting on her fingers. "But, when did you two even get the chance? Me and Janna didn't… _interrupt_ you this morning, did we?"

"Oh, no, well, it kind of just happened while we were hiding from the demon in my parent's bedroom," Marco said.

"Sounds like the ideal make-out time to me," Janna said, smirking.

"You two were kissing in our bedroom?" his dad asked.

"There was a demon in our bedroom?" his mom asked.

Different priorities, these two.

"Yeah, Star's demon ex-boyfriend brought over a cursed mask that turned Ferguson into a crazy superpowered demon that tried to kill us all," Janna said. "Did we not mention that?"

"What?" his father said. "Is this true, Marco?"

"Yeah," Marco said, "but it turned out okay. I beat the demon and he got sent to demon prison." Marco just realized how dumb that sounded. All of a sudden, Marco began feeling light-headed.

"You can't just let a demon into the house, Marco," his father said. "It's very dangerous."

"It wasn't that bad. I've faced demons a _lot_ more powerful than Thomifat," Marco said.

His stomach sunk. Why did he say that just now?

The room froze at this new tidbit of information.

Wait. _No_. It was time already?

"Really? You didn't mention demons in your story," his mother said. Marco took a look at the clock. It was useless. It wasn't like he could read it. Had it really been el hours? He hadn't expected to actually be in conversation when the side effect hit him. He assumed he'd be asleep or something.

"I didn't mention a lot of things in my story," Marco said, without any control over his words. "I left all the worst parts out."

"What?" Janna said. No, this wasn't happening. Not now.

"Are you okay, Marco?" Star asked. If everyone _shut up for a minute_ he would be.

"No, I used a Truth Ritual on Tom to get him to confess his deepest insecurities and the side effect is hitting me right now," Marco said. He was partially relieved that everyone seemed more confused than angry.

"Uh, what?" Janna repeated.

"I'm forced to tell the truth for the next few minutes or so."

"Oh," Jackie said.

Why now? Everyone was accepting him now. He finally managed to make things better.

"So, wait, you really left out all the worst parts of your story?" Janna asked.

"Yes," Marco said, and bit his lip to try to stop himself from continuing.

"What about telling us 'everything'? You just _lied_ to us?" Jackie asked. No, it wasn't like that.

"Yes." Marco's lip started bleeding.

"How much did you lie to us?" Janna asked, stepping toward him threateningly.

"Wait, we shouldn't be doing this," his father said.

"I agree, he should tell us this on his own terms," his mother added. Janna turned to them.

"About 90 percent of what I told you was toned down or a straight lie," Marco said. No. No. No. No. No-

"See? He'd never tell us on his own, right, Marco?" Janna turned to him menacingly.

"No, I most likely wouldn't." Marco looked over and saw Star and Jackie staring at the scene, probably torn between intervening and hearing what he was going to say.

Janna continued. "Why?"

"Because I want to keep it buried. All the things I've done. I don't want you to think I'm a monster."

"Wait, Janna!" Star said. "Marco's parents are right. This is wrong."

"Star, when are we going to get another chance like this?" Janna said. "You weren't there when he told me about the time he caught his first clone. He went into _so much_ detail. Today, he summed up sixteen years in sixteen minutes. That's not fair! I think he's hiding something. Something _big._ "

"But-"

"He said it himself. He _won't_ tell us on his own. This is our only chance to find out what _really_ happened there!"

Star was about to argue, but stopped herself.

"Now." Janna turned to be face to face with him. "What could you have done that was _so bad_ I would suddenly think you're a monster?"

Marco tried to clear his head. If he could think of something tame, maybe he would blurt that instead, but his mind went straight to the one thing that would make Janna hate him the most.

 _His body fell to the ground, his head twisted to look behind him. His lifeless eyes stared ahead in confusion. Marco did not enjoy seeing death, but it was better this way. He stood against The Reckoning._

"I killed Toza." Marco felt tears soaking his cheeks again. Everyone in the room stopped their bickering and stared at him.

"What?" someone in the room whispered. No, no, no...

"I chased Toza into an alleyway when he was weakest, I held him by the neck and twisted his head and-" Marco choked on his words as the karmic side effect cut off. It felt like a hand had just released his neck. He could lie again.

Marco looked back up and everyone was terrified of him. They were taking steps back, as if they were afraid he was going to do the same thing to them as he did to Toza.

There was only one thing Marco could think to do.

He had to get out of here.

He had to run away.

 _Anywhere_ in the multiverse was better than right here, right now.

Marco ignored their gazes and searched around the bed.

"Looking for these?" Janna asked. She held his scissors in her hand and took a step back out of his reach. She was the only one in the room who wasn't afraid of him. She was just pissed.

"J-Janna, you need to understand the context," Marco said, desperately.

"Was Toza on your back tattoo, Marco?" she asked coldly.

"Of course he was!"

"Janna, calm down," Star said, taking a step toward her.

"How can I calm down? Did you hear him, Star? He killed the very first friend he made in that dimension. I don't think this guy's Marco anymore."

"J-Janna, please," Marco whispered. "Just hear me out."

"Why should I hear you out? So far you've lied to us, used some weird magic on Tom, killed Toza by personally snapping his neck, and then tried to _run away_ when we caught you."

"I know it looks bad," Marco said, "But there's a lot you don't know-"

"Oh, I _know_ ," Janna said. "How many other deaths have you been keeping from us?"

"I-"

"How many people have you _killed_ , Marco?" Janna asked.

Marco opened his mouth, but no words would come. He wanted to say it was only Toza, but he couldn't lie now.

"Janna, just- Everyone, just give me a few minutes to explain myself."

"Okay," Janna said, "Is there anyway you can use that truth thing on yourself again?"

"It doesn't work like that…" In reality, he could use it on himself using a mirror, but he wasn't about to tell her that.

"How convenient."

Star tried to approach Janna again. "Listen Janna, everyone needs to cool off. Right now."

Janna became only more angry. "Excuse me? Did you forget that Marco just lied to our faces? Aren't you mad?"

"Of course I am!"

Marco flinched. He betrayed everyone's trust, and now-

"But I want to hear what Marco has to say," Star said. "He must have had a good reason. I believe in him."

Janna scoffed and turned to Jackie. "What about you, Jackie? Feel like trusting Marco after all of this?"

Jackie stared wide-eyed and couldn't seem to make coherent words.

"Leave Jackie out of this," Marco said. "If you want to put my head on the chopping block, then just do it."

"No one's head is going on any chopping blocks," his dad said.

"You mean, apart from Toza's?" Janna said.

"I think we should just wait and see what the doctor has to say about Marco's condition," his mom said. "He could have found something that explains this."

" _I_ can explain this. You guys just have to listen to me!" Marco said.

His parents looked over at him and seemed unsure.

"Don't you trust me, guys? I'm your son!"

"I- I don't know _what_ to believe, Marco," his dad said. "Just, please, stay on the bed until the doctor arrives."

This was it. All of their trust in him was gone. Marco didn't even know what to do at this point.

"Give me my scissors, Janna," he said. "Please."

"You said you _earned_ these scissors," Janna said, "by any means necessary, apparently."

Marco flinched.

Janna flipped open the scissors and ripped a portal open. It looked more like a pitch black pit than a portal.

"Janna, what are you doing?" Star said.

"Making sure he can't run away from this." No, she wouldn't...

Marco looked up, and she tossed the scissors into the portal.

Marco jumped out of his bed. There still might be time to-

"No!" Star shouted. She threw into the portal just a second before it closed.

"Star!" Marco said. He heard a chorus of other voices shouting alongside him.

Marco didn't waste any time reacting to what just happened. He ripped the needles out of his arm and headed straight for Janna.

He pinned the girl to the wall. For the first time, Janna looked terrified of Marco.

"What were you thinking of when you made that portal?" he asked her. She tried to get away, but he gripped her shoulders and held her still.

"Wait, I-" Janna started panicking.

"Janna, listen very carefully. When you opened a portal with those scissors, what place were you thinking of?"

"I-I don't know," Janna said. "I wasn't thinking about _anywhere_. I was just pissed!"

"That was the _last_ thing I needed to hear right now." Fuck! Shit! Crap!

"I- Where's Star?" she asked.

"Magical items like the scissors or Star's wand use your thoughts to operate. If your thoughts aren't clear, they run off emotions." Marco paced back and forth. If Star wasn't back in a minute or so, she was probably stuck there. Permanently. "Bad emotions like envy or anger tend to be unpredictable and really dangerous."

"So, you don't know where Star is, then?" Jackie asked, taking a step towards them.

"No! She could be anywhere in or out of the multiverse right now!" Marco swung his fist against the wall and it cracked. "Fuck!"

"M-Marco, calm down!" His dad put a hand on his shoulder. Marco pushed it away. He needed to think.

"W-well, she has the scissors at least, right?" his mom said.

"They're not going to be very helpful if she spawned an inch above an active volcano," he said. Or some bottomless pit. Or an empty void.

"Then what do we do?" his mom asked.

"Wait. We wait and hope she ended up in a dimension with solid ground and breathable air. And then we hope she still has the scissors to get back." That was all they could do.

Marco leaned against the wall and let his body slide down until he was sitting on the floor. He didn't even care about his bleeding arm.

"For fuck's sake," he said under his breath.

There was an awkward shuffling throughout the room as everyone took in what was going on. It was suddenly dawning on them that Star may be in danger, but they had no way of knowing for sure.

"I'm sorry," Janna said quietly.

Marco looked up at her and sighed. He would be mad, too, if he heard it like that. "Believe me when I tell you, killing Toza was a lot more complicated than it seems."

"Okay," Janna said, "but you're keeping _so many_ secrets. It's been bothering me since you gave us that big story. Nothing really had any ends unless we asked. It was always you just going to the next part, leaving the last part open ended."

"That's because nothing in that dimension ended well." _This_ probably wasn't going to end well, either.

"Honey, I'm sorry we doubted you," his mom said.

"It's okay," Marco said to everyone in the room. The ticking of the clock in the room counted all the seconds that Star was probably dead.

Jackie took an uneven breath.

"There's nothing we can do?" his dad asked.

"Do _you_ happen to have an extra pair of scissors?" Marco said.

"I, uh-"

"We can call Star's mom," Janna suggested.

"Even with another pair of scissors, there's no way to find her."

More awkward shuffling.

No one was talking now. Marco actually preferred it this way. He was able think clearly. Marco tried to come up with something, anything that could help. Maybe the Locator Ritual? No, it wasn't cross-dimensional.

Janna fell to her knees.

"She's dead," Janna said. "Oh my god. She's never coming back and it's my fault!" She sucked in a sob and covered her face with her beanie. "Why didn't I just listen to her?"

Jackie leaned over and pat Janna on the back. "Star will be fine. She's tough, and she has her magic…"

"You really think so?" Janna asked. Most likely not.

"Sure!" Jackie said. "I bet that any minute now, she'll come in through a portal, and it'll be like the last few minutes never happened!"

Wait.

That was it!

Marco got up from the ground.

"I can fix this," Marco said. It would hurt, a _lot_ , and he hadn't done it in years, but it was their only hope at this point.

Everyone turned to him.

"What are you waiting for? Just do it," Jackie said. They didn't even want to know how, they all just trusted him to save her.

He wasn't sure if he trusted himself to fix this, honestly.

"Okay, just give me a minute to think." To _remember_.

He closed his eyes. The room was silent, but the tension pressed down so heavily it almost made it worse.

Almost.

God damn, what was that stupid hand signal? It was infuriatingly complex and if he fucked it up just a little, he'd probably just end up killing himself.

 _Ashes fell from the sky like snow, coating the ruins that once was a city. On the horizon, the great beast destroyed its next target. It wouldn't stop until everyone was dead. Marco looked down at his hands, charred and coated in the blood of the people he'd failed to save. He'd been abandoned by Kar, yet again. He knew it would happen. It happened every time. He was glad it happened every time, because maybe, just maybe, Kar would be the thing he lost on his way back._

 _Marco held his hands above him and closed his eyes. He knotted his fingers together how he'd done seven times before, and spoke in the ancient tongue._

Wow, where did that come from? Marco shook the memory away, but he was glad it happened like that.

Marco copied his past self's hand gestures and took one last look at the room. Everyone was staring at him expectantly. He offered a reassuring smile and then closed his eyes again. He had to do this right.

Marco focused on his pinkie toe.

"Kilithikadya Sema Useerant Metos Fir farillecassion Biel'Tan! Menshad Korum, Khgirgint mugin gis pgiyment." Pinkie toe, pinkie toe, pinkie toe…

Marco felt his body burn to dust and everything went black.

Oh, thank god.


	12. Chapter 12: Turning Point

"Wait, you guys kissed?" Star said.

Marco rubbed his head. He felt he was just taken out of some deep trance, and had a huge headache. It reminded him of that one time he woke up with a hangover on the other side of Qur Don, not knowing how he got there, while dressed as a maid...

"Yeah," Jackie said with a frown. "I kind of… forced it on him though."

He looked around himself and saw his parents, Star, Jackie, and Janna. They were all in the hospital bedroom. What was going on?

Star was counting on her fingers. "But, when did you two even get the chance?" She turned to Marco. "Me and Janna didn't… _interrupt_ you this morning, did we?"

"Uh, what?" Marco said.

"Star asked if you and Jackie had a make-out session," Janna said to Marco. "She wants to know how it went."

Marco blinked. Why did something seem so _off_ about this?

"What!? No I don't!" Star said. "I just… didn't think they'd be at _that_ stage yet." She shuffled nervously. What were they even talking about? Something to do with him and-

 _Jackie!_

 _Marco got up and turned towards Jackie._

 _"Are you okay?" Marco asked, lending his hand to her._

 _"Yeah, I'm fine," Jackie said. Marco lifted her back on her feet from the ground. "Haven't ate it like that in years."_

 _Marco let out a sigh of relief. He had left his portable first-aid kit in his hoodie, so it would be bad if either of them got injured. It kind of sucked that their moment was ruined, though, and-_

 _Marco realized he was still holding Jackie's hand._

 _Oh._

 _Marco let out an audible gulp, but Jackie just kept smiling. She was so beautiful, even after her dress had gotten dirty. Marco smiled back. Maybe this was Destiny's plan all along. Thanks Destiny._

 _"You know, I'm really glad I asked you out," Jackie said._

 _"Me too."_

 _They both started to lean in towards one another. Was this really happening right now? A million thoughts raced through Marco's head, and all his insecurities bubbled to the surface, but he wouldn't let them interfere. Marco earned this, and he was going to enjoy it._

 _Their lips pressed together, ever so softly, and-_

"Marco?" Jackie said.

Marco snapped out of it. Woah. Where did that come from? First the memory about the hand gestures he needed, and now this?

Hold on. A flashback with hand gestures? When did that happen?

Everyone was looking at him in concern. Oh. Right. One thing at a time.

"Sorry. I must have blacked out for a second there." Marco's headache was getting worse. "I think I need another sip of water."

"It's fine, son. You're probably still exhausted," his dad said.

"You should stay hydrated," his mom said. "And if you're hungry, I can take your breakfast back to the nurse and have her reheat it."

"Really?" Janna said. "Are we just gonna pretend what he did was any sort of normal?"

"What?" Marco said, confused. Star banged her elbow into Janna's side.

"Oww! Star! Are you going to hit me every time I'm being honest?"

"Did I... do something weird?" Marco asked.

Everyone other than Janna put on fake reassuring smiles.

"Yes!" Janna said. "You were sitting there like a zombie for over a minute!"

"Huh. Really?" His head was pounding now, as if something in there was trying to escape. Marco tried his best to ignore it.

Jackie looked at the ground. "Well, you weren't really listening to anything we were saying, and then we noticed how you were just staring into space. We tried to get your attention, but you wouldn't budge…"

Did... Marco lose consciousness when he had those visions?

"I… uh…" This was starting to get weird. Marco turned towards his side to grab his glass of water. He gasped. His scissors were there.

"Marco?" Star said.

No, wait, _of course_ they were still there. Where else would they be?

Marco looked down at his left arm. The needles were still there as well. But why was that so strange?

"Honey are you okay?" his mom asked. "You're starting to worry us."

Marco ignored his mother's question and looked at the wall instead. The same wall that he had punched. It looked good as new.

"We should call a nurse," his dad said. "There's something wrong with him."

"I'll go. You guys keep an eye on Marco," Star said. She jumped up and headed towards the door.

"Don't leave again," Marco said. What? Why did he say that just now? He probably looked crazy. Hell, he _felt_ a little crazy. Nothing was making any sense, but for whatever reason, Marco didn't want Star out of his sight.

Marco moved to get up from the bed until his right foot caught on the sheets a little.

 _Pinkie toe, pinkie toe, pinkie toe…_

"Pinkie Toe," he said to himself, and it all came back at once.

 _"No!" Star shouted. She threw herself into the portal just a second before it closed._

He'd used the Rewind Ritual! Of course! Marco had forgotten that it using it came with the worst hangover ever.

Marco almost laughed at himself. So much for never using it again...

"Marco, are you okay?" Jackie asked. Star turned around upon hearing this.

"Umm, yeah! More than okay, actually," Marco said with a relieving grin.

He wasn't out of it yet, though. The Rewind Ritual brought him back, but it didn't necessarily make this timeline any better than the last. In fact, it's price usually made the timeline _worse_ than the one you escaped from. Marco would have to be ready for anything.

He then noticed that Star's face was right up against his. When did she get there?

"Uhh," Marco said. Star was leaning over the bed, looking at him intently. She only ever got this close for hugs or for picking Marco's acne. But this wasn't that same playful Star. She had a serious look on her that Marco wasn't used to seeing. It was starting to make him a little uncomfortable. Marco would believe everyone else shared his feelings, but Star was so close he couldn't even see their reactions to this. After a few more awkwards seconds, Star finally spoke.

"Really, Marco? Are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Yes, Star. Honestly. One-hundred percent." Marco was starting to feel like he was being interrogated.

"Hmmmmmmmmm," Star said with as much exaggeration as possible. "I bet you're hiding how you're _really_ feeling. No one acts like a zombie and then says they're 'okay,'"

Crap, she was being persistent. Marco hated the idea of lying to her, but there was _no way_ he was going to explain the Rewind Ritual to everyone. Especially what lead to him using it.

"You're right, I was lying to you. I have a splitting headache, I'm very hungry, and I just found out of that I've been blacking out periodically."

Oh.

 _Oh no_.

Marco's mind may have came from the future, but his body belonged to the present, which meant the side effect from the Truth Ritual was happening _again_. They'd once again be able to ask him anything. Just like with Mirria, history was attempting to repeat itself.

Star jumped up in the air in joy.

"Ha, I _knew_ it! Nothing gets past the 'Star Stare,'" she said.

"Um, not exactly sure if this is something worth celebrating, Star," Jackie said.

"Oh, right! Sorry, Marco!"

"Is this true, Marco?" his dad asked.

"Yes," Marco said. Honestly, he would have grabbed the scissors and left by now, but the side effect also temporarily held his body in place. There was no escaping until it wore off.

"This is serious, Marco," his mom said. "Why are you so calm about this?"

"I'm very limited in what emotions I can express right now. I'm actually screaming internally." Damnit, Damnit, Damnit!

"That _is_ serious," Janna said. "Just like a zombie."

"Don't worry guys," Star said. "I'll grab a nurse real quick."

Marco knew it was only a matter of time before they learned the truth again. But if Star takes her time getting the nurse, she might not be there for when Janna throws the scissors in the portal, so at least she'd be safe. He needed to salvage as much as he could in this new timeline.

"Oh yeah! I should probably use the scissors! I'll get her _way_ faster that way."

"Good idea, Star," Janna said.

Whelp, there was good ol' Destiny, kicking Marco in the crotch yet again. He'd been counting on Star being gone for everything, but now she'd be back in time to get all the juicy stuff. And, hell, why not let Nurse Rachel hear about all the people he's murdered while they're at it?

Star made her way to the nightstand where Marco's scissors were. She grabbed the scissors and took a single step towards the middle of the room before she froze on the spot. She was just standing there, motionless.

"Star?" Jackie said.

No response.

Immediately, all the attention went from Marco to Star. Everyone besides Marco gathered around her, trying to help in some way.

"Are you okay, dear?" his mom asked.

Marco had no idea what was going on. He could only see her back, but it seemed like she was staring down at the scissors.

"I...I was looking for these?" Star said to herself.

"The scissors?" Jackie asked.

"But they're right there," Janna said.

Star started pacing in circles. "No no no no. That's not what I meant. I was looking for these in another dimension. Everything was so dark. My wand wouldn't even work as a light. So I just crawled on the ground, hoping I would bump into them."

Marco was beginning to think Star was possessed or something. What she was describing definitely fit what a Goumah shows its hosts. Had he brought one back with him to Earth? If so, how long had she been possessed? Did it start multiplying yet?

"You're not making any sense right now," Janna said.

"Oh my god, Star, are you crying?" Jackie said.

Jackie was right. Tears were flowing down Star's face. Star took her hand and felt her cheek, wiping some of the tears off, as if she herself had just realized she was crying. She ignored it and continued to talk to herself.

"It was a really scary place. I was freaking out about what Janna was gonna do to Marco. And then I was worried if I'd ever see _any_ of you again."

No, it couldn't be...

"Star, you need to calm yourself. You're acting historical," his dad said.

"No!" Star shouted. This threw everyone off. "What I _need_ to do is to concentrate. Please be quiet for a few minutes."

Star shooed everyone away, and then closed her eyes tight.

"I need to think… I need to think..."

The room was still. No one dared to move an inch after her order. Marco realized that this was the kind of command that made her a good princess, whether she would admit it or not.

When Star finally opened her eyes again, they weren't the same blue irises everyone was used to. Her eyes were completely white and glowed brightly. Then she dropped her wand, as her body floated up into the air. Her hair and clothes spread as if she were floating in water. There was the usual Star-strange, and then there was _this_.

"Oh no! It's spreading!" his dad said. He covered his nose and mouth to not inhale the tainted air.

"I'm pretty sure this _isn't_ a disease, honey," his mom said.

"She _is_ acting weird, but not the same brand of weird as Marco," Janna said.

"Star said she needed to concentrate," Jackie said. "So is _this_ a common occurrence?"

Janna turned towards her. "How often do you see Star pay attention during school?"

Jackie giggled nervously. "Heh, yeah, maybe this _is_ a special occasion."

Star was still floating.

Nobody was sure what to do. They all stared at Star as if she was performing some sort of spectacle, which was partially true, but the fact that it came without much warning was concerning. Silently, Janna took out her phone and held it up in front of her, presumably to take a picture. At the very least, this was buying Marco more time as the effects of the Truth Ritual wore off.

"I guess we should wait this out then," his mom said.

Marco sighed. He had been so focused on becoming a normal human on Earth again, that he had forgotten just how _abnormal_ his best friend truly was. Because of her human-like appearance, Marco often forgot that Star was an alien princess from another world. An alien who sneezed glitter, had glowing hearts on her cheeks, could survive a fifty-foot drop, and could transform into some purple bug monstrosity, along with probably another dozen or so Mewman quirks Marco had forgotten. Not to mention, she had the most powerful weapon in the universe, which was currently on the floor like some discarded piece of trash.

It made him wonder why everyone treated her so normally. Marco had forgotten a lot about his life on Earth, but one thing that always stood out was how no one was afraid of her the same way Marco was when they first met. She could start fires and summon monsters at will, but for pretty much everyone, the novelty of her magic wore off in about a week. After that, it was business as usual at Echo Creek Academy. Like, she was a freaking _princess_ and no guys attempted to ask her out? She never got any special treatment from teachers, and wasn't there a girl that tried to bully Star?

Even now, while Star was floating around in a coma, they didn't think too much about it. They're probably assuming this is normal Mewni-stuff and they're letting it run it's course. It was like no one besides Marco truly understood what chaos this girl had unleashed on them the day she became a foreign exchange student.

At the end of the day, they got that it didn't matter _what_ Star was. Alien or not, she was just a girl who wanted to make friends, have fun, and be treated the same as everyone else. It was probably what Star loved most from living on Earth.

Marco really envied that from Star right now, being treated like a normal person.

"Alright, now I'm starting to get worried," Jackie said.

"I say we get help now," Janna said, putting her phone away. Marco's parents nodded in agreement.

Oh. So they _were_ just as freaked out as Marco.

Just as they were about to call a nurse, Star gasped and fell to the ground. Her eyes were back to the way they were, and she was following gravity's rules again.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Star looked around the room with wide eyes that were still brimming with tears, and Marco couldn't even fathom what was going through her head right now.

"Star, are you okay?" Jackie asked. Star looked over at her and it looked like she was trying to piece together something in her head.

"I, uh." She looked around the room and her eyes met Marco's. She looked down at the scissors again. "I'm… not sure."

Marco tried to figure out what was bothering her, but was interrupted by his mother's voice.

"Star? Did you… find what you were looking for?"

Star looked back at his mom and blinked a few times.

Then, she snapped out of it and tried to show some enthusiasm.

"Oh, no. Uh, there's nothing wrong. I had just forgotten my locker combination. I'm all good now!" she said. It was obvious that lying wasn't her forte. No one bought it for a second, but everyone was nonetheless happy that she seemed better.

Marco still wasn't sure what happened to her. He had an idea, but it was too far-fetched to be true. He figured that if it was important enough, she'd tell him later.

That was, if she still trusted him after the truth came out again. Marco could still feel the magic grasping him.

Star picked up her wand and then sat on the side of the bed next to Marco. She still had his scissors.

"First Marco is staring into space, and now Star is forgetting things! This has to be this Heckapoo lady's doing!" his dad said.

"Not really," Marco said. He frowned. Yeah, he was still screwed. Thankfully his comment went mostly ignored.

"How do you figure?" Jackie asked his father.

"Well, erm, they are the only two that have meet her, so she must have done _something_ to them. I'm going to have to give her a stern talking too."

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Mr. Diaz," Star said, biting on her wand.

"And why's that?" he asked. Uh oh, here it comes.

"Heckapoo is not someone to be taken lightly. She could kill you without lifting a finger, and that's if she's in a _good_ mood." Marco couldn't help it, he had no control. It was all downhill from here.

"What?" his dad said in a shocked tone. The others looked just as confused, especially Star.

"And even if you _do_ manage to talk to her, it won't change what happened to me during those sixteen years. It won't fix anything. I'll always be fucked up. It'd be a waste-" Marco felt a hand covering his mouth. It was Star's.

"Hey, can me and Marco talk alone for a second?" Star asked, not taking her hand off Marco's mouth.

Wait. Was she… saving him?

"Just for a few minutes. I have something _really_ important to talk to him about. In private," Star said. Marco noticed how nervous she was.

They all looked at Star in confusion. Marco was still talking during all of this, but Star had a strong enough grip on him that the words coming out were muffled and unintelligible.

"Um, looks like Marco has something he wants to say," Janna said.

"Oh, don't mind him," Star said.

 _Marco felt dizzy. He probably shouldn't have expected any less after being hurled into a table. He could tell he had just caused a scene because the music playing in the tavern had stopped. Damn, he hated being the center of attention, especially while he was still a newbie in Zonst._

 _"Is your friend alright over there?" a gruff voice said._

 _"Oh, don't mind him. He's just had too much too drink. You should see him when he's sober," Allion said._

 _"Hahaha, perhaps the little guy should order milk next time. He's lucky he's still alive after saying that to Helma."_

 _Marco dusted himself off and sat back at the table with Allion. He looked around the bar. several other guild members and patrons were snickering and whispering amongst themselves. Thankfully there was no sign of that waitress (who was apparently named Helma) anywhere. He wanted to leave before she came back._

 _"So how was your first bar fight, Marco of Earth?" Allion said. "If you want to even call that a fight. Why didn't you hit her back?"_

 _"I don't hurt people unless they deserve it."_

 _"Well, I guess you had that coming to you, then," Allion took the last sip of her drink. "In that case, what did our leader do to 'deserve it'?"_

 _"Heckapoo took away everything and everyone I loved just so I play a this stupid life-or-death game for a pair of scissors. And she's a huge bitch." Marco had been gone from home far too long. He was getting a little too used to swearing. "Anyway, can we leave yet?"_

 _"What's the hurry? I'm not done yet," Allion said. She had already finished her meal, but she was now slowly melting ice cubes in her mouth to waste time._

 _"You know damn well why I want to leave. That Helma lady's gonna kill me if I stay here any longer."_

 _"I don't know, it looked like earlier you wanted to get to know her better, if you catch my drift." Allion had a sly smile on._

 _Marco turned red. "I have no idea why I said that! I mean, yeah, she's really pretty, but I'd never say that to any girl. It was like I didn't have any control over my words."_

 _"Oh dear, did I forget to tell you? How silly of me." Allion was trying her best to act surprised._

 _"What did you to this time?"_

 _"Okay, well, remember this morning when I taught you how to use the Truth Ritual on that Burfon rebel?"_

"Marco!" Star said, ripping him out of his thoughts. She was holding his shoulders and shaking him lightly. Marco was back in the hospital. "You were in zombie-mode again."

"Uh, sorry about that," Marco said. Damn, another unwarranted memory. Why were these happening? "I was having a flashback from Qur Don. I got beat up for hitting on a waitress."

Star's eyes widened a little and she laughed nervously. "Oh, uh. That's, uh, interesting..."

"Yeah, I was hitting on her because-" Star covered his mouth. He'd been about to explain the truth ritual's side effects, and also that the waitress was hot.

"I don't need to know that."

Once he was done talking, she took her hand off his mouth. Marco looked up and noticed they were alone in the room. Apparently she had convinced everyone to leave.

"Don't worry, Marco. I'm gonna help you," she said. "You know, with the weird, truth-telling thingy." She wiggled her fingers in a way that thoroughly convinced Marco that she didn't actually have that much information about said "truth-telling thingy".

"How do you know about the Truth Ritual and its side effects?" Marco asked.

Star snapped her fingers. "Yeah! That's what it's called! You're not going to believe this, but I think I got some sort of premonition. You see, when I dipped down, or at least think I did, I saw that ritual thing was forcing you to tell us your secrets, and that ended up really badly. I could tell it was happening right then cause I recognized that monotone voice."

Wait. What?

What the hell?

"Star, that stuff actually happened. I'm from the future."

"Uh, what?"

"After Janna threw the scissors into a portal, and you jumped through it. I cast an Ancient Tongue Ritual that sent me back into the past, so I could stop it from happening in the first place." Marco couldn't believe it. There was _no way_ she came back with him! It wasn't supposed to be possible.

"Oh," Star said. She let out a little giggle as the tension dissolved from her body. She had probably thought Marco wouldn't believe her. "That gets rid of _some_ of the mystery, then."

Marco was a little surprised she was taking this so well, although she did mention a few days ago that they had onced stopped time completely. Apparently time was pretty easy to manipulate once you had the right amount of magic.

"But wait," Star said. "How come Janna and the others don't remember what happened?"

"Technically, no one should have memories of the future. It hasn't happened yet. The only person who retains their memories is the one who cast the ritual in the first place."

"So, what happened to me?"

"I don't know." And that _was_ the truth. The person Marco had learned the Rewind Ritual from was very vague on the details, but it should have only affected him. "My only guess is that your wand may have had something to do with it. Maybe it protected you from the magic as it rewinded time. I'm curious if you lost anything when you came back like I did."

Star scratched her head. "Geez, this stuff sounds complicated. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I mean did you-"

Star gasped and quickly covered Marco's mouth until he was no longer speaking.

"I'm sorry Marco. I forgot that your truth thing is still on," she said. "If you're uncomfortable, I can leave."

"I am uncomfortable," Marco said.

"Oh, uh, okay." Star slipped off the bed to stand.

"I want you to stay, though," Marco said. "You deserve to get whatever answers you want from me." If she really did have her future self's memories, she already knew the worst of it.

Star raised her eyebrow at him. "What? No! I'm not going to take advantage of you while you're under a truth spell!"

"I'm giving you full permission, Star. Any questions you have, now's the time to ask them. Besides, I don't think the effects will wear off until I incriminate myself in some way."

"Can I really ask _any_ question?"

"Yes," Marco said. "I really want you to trust me again."

"Marco! I _do_ trust you!" Star seemed offended that he would even suggest otherwise. Marco smiled. At least some things never changed.

"First question?"

"Oh! Um, okay."

Star put her finger on her chin.

"So, what really happened between you and this Toza guy?"


	13. Chapter 13: Monster

Marco stood beside his partner, with his back against the brick wall, looking out across the road as people passed by. Some were used to them by now, and looked ahead dully as they made their afternoon commute. Others would stare, only long enough to realize who they were, and they would whip their heads straight ahead to avoid their gaze.

Across the street, a child climbed a tree and his father was yelling at him to get down. Further down, a street merchant was haggling with a stubborn adventurer. While everything _seemed_ peaceful, Marco wouldn't let his guard down. A foul stench drifted through the air. Tomorrow was trash day.

Marco saw the position of the sun. It was almost sunset. A whole day and he couldn't find anything? Strange indeed...

The sound of snapping wood caught Marco's attention, and he looked back across the road. The child had fallen from the tree, and was now floating about two feet from the ground. His father had his hand outstretched, and it was glowing.

Caught in the act.

Marco strode over to where the father was slowly lowering his son to the ground. The man looked up at Marco and instantly shrunk back.

"I-I didn't mean to! It was just to save Vilen!" he said, protectively grabbing his son.

"How did you do that magic?" Marco asked.

The man looked around. Every other citizen had already escaped to the streets once they realized what was going on. They didn't want to get involved. No one would be there to save him.

"I-I learned as a child. I used to be an apprentice," the man said. "I renounced those ways, though!"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Marco asked. When he realized it wasn't a rhetorical question, the man shrunk back even further.

"I, uh, o-of course not! A man so distinguished as yourself is obviously h-highly knowledgeable in the magical arts!"

"So then why did you think I wouldn't be able to tell artifact magic from common wizardry?" Marco asked.

Kar'Margorach finally moved and reached over and ripped an amulet off the man's neck.

"Where did you get this?" Marco asked.

"I- please! There's no harm done in it! I just saved my son!"

 **"You just doomed your son,"** Kar said. He tossed the amulet to the ground hard enough to shatter it, and then went up close to the man.

"Father! Don't let him eat me!" the child screamed.

"No, please! I just got it today! I didn't even know it was magical!" The man looked between Kar and Marco and it was obvious he was lying. Marco rolled with it, though.

"Then you'll have no problem pointing us to the crook who scammed you."

The man looked back at Marco's partner and gulped.

Kar'Margorach smiled menacingly, and the man broke, just like that.

"T-there's this bar, right? Uh, on Dremmingway Pass. It's called 'The Twin Roosters' or something. They have a store in the back, where you can get all kinds of things," the man said. "I-illegal things…"

Kar backed off and Marco smiled. Typical Magic User. They claim to help one another, but as soon as their own lives are in danger, they'll betray anyone to save themselves.

"You've done good for the Court of Elesh and for the survival of Galdos." Marco said.

"T-thank you, sir," the man said, still clinging onto his son. The man turned around to leave, but Kar blocked him off. He made a pathetic yelping sound.

"I suggest you remember how close you were to losing everything today. The Court of Elesh is not as forgiving as we are," Marco said, looking down at the shattered amulet. "Believe me, those toys aren't worth it."

Marco glared at Kar, who took the hint and moved so the man could leave.

"I-I'm sorry…" the man whispered as he ran down the street. Marco watched him till he was no longer in sight.

 **"What, so we're** ** _not_** **killing him?"** Kar asked.

"We won't do well treating on the symptoms. We have to cure the virus," Marco said. "Let's pay this bar a visit."

 **"But our shift is almost over. Why not look into it tomorrow?"**

"Once word gets out that a Magic Enforcer is patrolling this area, they won't hesitate to leave. That entire building could be gone by morning. We need to act now."

 **"But... won't it be crowded around night time?"**

Marcos smiled. "What, your stomach can't handle it?"

Kar smirked. **"Like I said, we can't waste anymore time here. Let's get these bastards."**

"Alright. So um… Dremmingway Pass is downtown, right?"

 **"I don't know why you expect me to be better at directions than you."**

"Fair enough," Marco said. He still wasn't used to this district yet. And he had lost his only map. Why did Mirria have to be so big and confusing?

Marco decided to ask the locals for directions, but he knew even _that_ would be a challenge. Everytime he tried to approach someone, they'd either rush away quickly or make some excuse about needing to be somewhere. It was clear they were afraid of him, but Marco didn't mind. He was now a symbol for what happens when you abuse the life energy of Galdos. Marco would amend for his sins soon, though.

He cursed Mirria's lack of directional signs and ended up just wandering around until he found the right road. People scattered like insects as he walked past. Deep down he knew at least half of them were still using magic behind the scenes. He just couldn't prove it. Yet.

It was dark when Marco arrived at the bar. His partner slammed open the door and Marco strode in like he owned the place. All eyes turned to him, and the bartender stared at him with wide eyes.

"Umm… Welcome to the Twin Roosters, sir," she said, trying to act like she wasn't terrified by Kar. "What can I get for you?"

Marco didn't say anything as he walked up to the counter, slowly and menacingly. Then he leaned against the bar, and said, "Well, I heard something interesting about your little establishment here, so I came by to see for myself."

" **Where is the magic? Show us now and I** ** _might_** **spare your life,** " Kar threatened, bringing his face close to the bartender. She gulped, but maintained her composure quite well. She's done this routine before.

"I'm not sure what you are talking about," she said. "We're just a normal bar. We serve drinks and food only."

"Is that so?" Marco said, tapping his fingers against the counter. He then examined his fingers and saw some white ponder on them. It was magical residue. They were so sloppy they didn't even _attempt_ to hide their tracks.

"Yes sir," she said, nodding at least five times. Marco stopped to look around the bar. Most of its patrons seemed to have deserted it since he arrived, except for a few tougher looking guys, who were all gazing at him intently.

"Business seems to be pretty slow tonight," Marco said. "Around this hour it should be sprawling with customers." The girl flinched.

"Well, times have definitely changed, sir," she said, avoiding eye contact. "After the recent laws went into effect, tourism in Mirria has been at an all time low."

"We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good." Marco looked over. Kar'Margorach was getting bored. He never had any patience for the subtlety of investigation. "Anyway, how many people work here?"

"Oh, it's just me and my father. I tend to the drinks while he prepares the food. We used to have Enchanter Chefs, but they had to be let off. It's sad really. They spent their whole lives learning the craft, and now it's useless here."

"Where is your father?" Marco asked.

The girl blinked. "Um, I, t-the poor man had a case of Regaldia. He had to miss work."

Marco put his elbow on the counter and rested his chin on his hand. "Regaldia isn't in season for another two months." She wasn't even _trying_.

"Oh, um, I just assumed it was Regaldia. We don't exactly have witch doctors anymore, so we just had to guess."

Kar'Margorach slammed on the table. The girl jumped.

" **We are not here to play** ** _games_** **, wench!** " Kar said. She backed up, shaking with fear. " **Tell us the truth if you want to live.** " Kar was pissed. Marco could no longer guarantee her survival.

"It is the truth sir! You must believe me!" She let out a sniffle and tears filled her eyes. Marco stared down at her and sighed.

"She seems pretty serious, doesn't she?" Marco mused.

" **I guess.** "

"Well, people _do_ like to spread rumors. Maybe we will leave this bar alone after all." They would have to just check out the back themselves. Marco turned toward the door, but as he turned, it burst open, and a red-headed woman with white-pale skin and an orange dress strode in.

"Hey, Rula, help a girl out! I need some magic healing potions! You wouldn't believe what happened to my newest patient!" she said earerly, striding over to the counter in a few steps. The bartender began to sweat, and Marco turned to face her, his interest piqued.

"Oh?" he said, locking eyes with the bartender.

"Don't make silly jokes, ma'am, we don't sell anything like that here."

"You guys are out already? Lame…" the oblivivious lady replied. She turned to Marco, and he noticed the flame on her head. Something about it felt familiar, and actually irritated him a little. "Who's this scary looking guy?" she said, pointing at Marco with a devious grin. It was annoying that she didn't show any restraint in the face of a Magic Enforcer, let alone one of the most notorious ones in Mirria.

" **It appears your secret has come out,** " Kar'Margorach said, ignoring the other girl. He started closing up to Rula again threateningly. Marco walked back up to the counter, passing the strange lady without another glance. The bartender was more important than some idiot who didn't know how respect was supposed to work.

"Show us where you're hiding them," Marco said.

"Hey freak, have we met before? You look familiar." the lady in orange said. Marco ignored her.

"Now," Marco demanded.

One of the patrons finally stepped up to Marco and put a threatening hand on his shoulder. "Hey buddy, it you're gonna cause trouble, then I-"

Marco didn't even look back as Kar swatted the guy across the room. He crashed into a table, destroying it.

The bartender scurried over to a door behind the counter and pulled it open, obviously worried about what Kar'Margorach might do to the other patrons if he wasn't satisfied soon.

The bartender watched as Marco and Kar stepped inside.

Inside, there were potions lining the walls and artifacts adorning the mannequins on either side of a counter. Behind the counter was an eskewed chair and a door that hung open. Whoever was there had heard the commotion outside and ran before they could pay for their crimes.

Marco hopped over the counter and through the door. At the end of the alleyway, he could see a man run out of sight. Marco gave chase.

This criminal was not at his peak, though. He was an older man, and it wasn't long before Marco was right behind him.

The man hid into an alleyway and immediately realized his mistake as he reached a dead end. He turned around to face his punishement, but then stopped short when he saw Marco's face.

"Marco?" he said. "Marco, I thought ya' were an Enforcer." He let out a held breath and started coughing. He probably hadn't run that much in his life.

"How do you know my name?" Marco asked. Kar'Margorach helped him block the exit.

"What?" the man said. "It's me, Toza. Marco, the hell is that?" He pointed to Kar, and Marco was getting annoyed that this Toza guy kept calling him by his name.

"I don't know any Toza," Marco said. "I only know that you have been killing Galdos with your treachery and that you must be stopped."

"Enough with bull crap, son. Yer starting to creep me out."

Marco's expression didn't change, though. He continued to look at the man coldly.

Toza's face fell. "T-They did somethin' to ya, didn't they? Marco, ya really don't remember me?"

"They've enlightened me. I won't be falling for whatever trick this is." It was clear this man was trying to confuse him. He had probably casted a spell to make him seem familiar to Marco. He knew for a fact that he had never seen the man in his life.

"Marco, open yer eyes! Don't you know what they're gonna do with all that power?"

Yet, still, he felt the need to explain himself. It was powerful magic indeed. "The Court of Elesh is planning to fix the world."

"How can they fix the world if all they do is destroy? Mirria's in shambles now that they passed that law! This country can't function without magic, and they know that! They know that magic is the only way we can fight back."

"All magic does is hurt people. It's taken everyone I've cared about away from me. I don't even remember their faces anymore because of what it did to my mind."

"You mean Allion?" the man said. "Marco, that wasn't your fault."

Wait, how did he know about the name on his back?

The name even the Elesh Priests hadn't known the origin of.

"Stop trying to mess with my head."

"Marco, you haf'ta be in there somewhere. Ya gotta know that-" His voice cut off as Kar'Margorach grabbed him by the neck.

" **Man, this guy just won't shut up.** " Kar had a point. He had been swayed by words long enough.

"Kar, drop him. You wouldn't want to _hurt_ the poor old man." Besides, Marco needed _information,_ and the man couldn't speak if he was being choked.

Kar groaned and let Toza fall to the floor. Marco didn't give him any time to catch his breath.

"How high up does your organization go? Where else are you distributing?"

Toza desperately scrambled away. "Marco, stop, please! This isn't you!"

" **That isn't an answer.** "

Marco quickly caught up with him and held him up by the collar of his shirt. Toza looked into Marco's eyes like he was trying to find something.

"I won't ask a second time," Marco said. Toza frowned. Then, as if he realized something, he stared defiantly at Marco.

"I don't know," he said.

"Then you're of no use to me." Marco lowered the man to his feet and let go of his collar. Toza got a glimmer of hope in his eyes, and then Marco grabbed him by the neck. "Kar, do it."

" **With pleasure.** " Kar'Margoach reached around Toza's head and turned it until his scream died in his mouth with a series of cracks. Marco let go of his neck.

His body fell to the ground, his head twisted to look behind him. His lifeless eyes stared ahead in confusion. Marco did not enjoy seeing death, but it was better this way. He stood against The Reckoning.

"Kar, clean this up," Marco said. "Make it quick, though. We have to get back to the bar." Kar licked his lips and moved towards the corpse in front of him.

Marco closed his eyes. He didn't want to watch Kar do the dirtier part of the job.

Then, he felt something smash against the back of his head and he lost consciousness.


	14. Chapter 14: Arm

There was a knock at the door. Marco looked up and frowned.

"Can we come back in? The doctor wants to talk to Marco," his mom said through the door.

Marco looked at Star, who's eyes were barely holding back tears. Marco had closed his eyes and avoided her gaze the whole time so he couldn't convince himself to stop halfway through. Star wanted to know what happened to Toza, and, even after the Truth Ritual's side effects had worn off, Marco delivered. It was the least Star deserved after everything Marco had put her through.

"They've been waiting a while. We should probably let them in," Marco said. There was no doubt Star had questions for him, but they couldn't let everyone wait forever. The two had been acting suspicious enough. Star looked at the door and then back at him.

"But, what happened next? Who knocked you out? Did they hurt you? Did _they_ brainwash you, too? Who exactly was this 'Kar' guy?"

"Trust me, Star, that's a whole other can of Skred Worms. I'll explain the rest when we get out of here."

Star looked over at the clock and her eyes widened at the time. Wow, how long had they been talking? "Yeah, that _was_ a lot you told me, so I think I can wait. Besides, you're right here, back on Earth, so no matter what happened, it's gonna have a happy ending!"

Marco couldn't help but chuckle. He really missed Star's optimism. She could bring light to even the darkest of moments. She was the one thing Heckapoo's dimension was lacking the most.

Star stood up and shouted at the door.

"Alright! You can come in now!"

Marco and Star stared blankly at the door until it became apparent no one was coming in.

"Guess they didn't hear me." Star cleared her throat. "Ahem, MARCO AND I ARE READY!"

Marco covered his ears. Apparently Mewmans had very loud voices when they needed them. Probably for battle cries or something equally unnecessary.

Despite Star's voice being strong enough to make Marco's glass of water vibrate, there was no response coming from the hallway. Then it hit Marco.

"Oh right, I forgot."

Star gave him an annoyed look. "You uh, want to fill me in? We're not stuck in this dumb room, are we?"

"No, this room's just under one of Tom's curses. He put a sound proof aura around the place so no one could hear us while we goofed around last night."

"Ugh, I hate these things. Whenever Tom got mad, he'd use one to throw a temper tantrum in the bathroom. He thought I couldn't tell, but there was always smoke coming from the door!"

"So… should we get rid of it? It's probably not a good idea to have a hospital room soundproofed. That's how shitty assassins get away with things."

Star stared at him for a second. "Uh, how _do_ we get rid of it?"

Marco frowned. He was somewhat counting on her magic to fix it. It probably didn't help that her book of spells was missing or whatever.

Wait, now that he was thinking about it…

"Actually, there's this one ritual I know that-"

"No," Star said, interrupting him and placing her finger over his lips.

"Uh, what?"

"No more rituals today. I'm cutting you off."

"Star, you can't just-"

"You're grounded from rituals."

"Star, I'm an adult. You can't ground me."

"I'm a princess, Marco. I can ground _anyone._ "

Marco smirked. "I ruled a country once, Star." Well, a _province_ , but she didn't need to know that. "I'm pretty much the _master_ of grounding." As in, literally putting people into the ground.

Star smiled back. "What, are you gonna use a _grounding ritual_ on me, Marco?"

Marco laughed. "Don't test me, Star."

Star quirked an eyebrow and smiled devilishly. "Oh really?" She turned to the door and shouted. "Hey, everyone! Marco just told me that he _looooves_ Jackie!"

For half a second, Marco froze in embarassment, but as Star's face cracked into an even bigger smile, he remembered the aura around the room. In an instant, everything in his body dissolved and he started laughing. Star joined him.

And then the door opened.

Everyone stood at the door, looking in with confused expressions. They probably hadn't expected loud laughter to suddenly appear when they opened it.

"Are you guys okay?" Jackie asked.

Both Marco and Star realized just how silly they must have looked.

"Yeah, we're fine. Star was just trying to cheer me up."

Marco's mom looked at him worriedly. "Oh, we weren't overcrowding you, we're we?"

Marco blinked. "Uh, what?"

"Were there too many of us in the room for you to handle?"

"Oh," Marco said. "Y-yeah. I just needed some one-on-one time, you know?"

"Well do you feel better now?" his dad asked. Marco looked over at Star and she shined a genuine smile at him.

"Yeah, do you feel better after letting that all out?" she asked. Marco smiled. Even after hearing all of the horrible stuff he did, she was still concerned about making him feel better.

"Yeah, Star. Thank's for hearing me out," he said.

"Ooooo, what kind of dirty secrets did you let Star in on?" Janna asked.

"Oh uh-"

"You're not allowed to know!" Star said, with way too much ferocity and not enough subtlety. Janna took a step back.

"Uh, okay," she said.

"Whatever it was," Jackie said, "It sure sounded like it was funny. You guys were acting hysterical."

Star giggled. "Yeah, Marco was all 'oh woe is me, will my abs ever come back,' but I was having none of it! So I kept making funny faces til he started laughing."

"Yes, Star, that was definitely the biggest problem I have right now. But now you cured me. Thank you," Marco said sarcastically.

"No I get it, Marco," Janna said. "I imagine you were pretty beefy. Losing all that _must_ have been devastating."

"Don't bodyshame, Janna," Jackie said with a smile across her face. "Marco looks fine."

"Yeah," Star said, "Marco's perfect no matter what shape and size he is."

Geez, was a bunch of teenage girls actually making him blush?

"Hey, why am I the bad guy here all of the sudden?" Janna said.

"Janna, you bullied me as a kid," Marco said. Not to mention, she got Star trapped in a dimension of eternal darkness.

"Okay, yeah," Janna said with a shrug. "I'm pretty bad."

Marco hadn't expected that answer. He let out a laugh. Despite feeling a bit awkward about it, it seemed to put everyone else at ease. It seems like he was able to make them forget about his stunt from earlier.

"I'm glad you still have a sense of humor, Marco," his dad said. "Adulthood has been known to kill that."

Star nudged Marco in the side and said, "I guess laughter _is_ the best medicine!"

"I'll be the judge of that," a man said as he made his way into the room. The man was most likely a doctor, judging by the lab coat he wore and the clipboard in his hand. He tapped a well chewed pen against the clipboard as he strode toward the bed, his tired and sunken eyes scanning the room as if he were searching for some speck of dust that the cleaning lady had missed.

"Ah, Dr. Singer, we're sorry for making you wait. Marco was just having a moment to himself," his mom said.

Dr. Singer looked over at her. "I don't appreciate having my time wasted, Mrs. Diaz. The boy's privacy should be the _least_ of our concerns."

"Oh, um, yes, you're right," she said. Dr. Singer looked around the room again. His eyes landed on Marco and he shooed everyone out of his way to give the two space. Marco could tell he was much more direct than Rachel was.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Diaz? Disoriented? Dizzy?" he asked, not attempting to put any kind of bedside manner on. He grabbed Marco's right arm and examined it. Definitely not like Rachel.

"Um, well, I feel a little annoyed," Marco said. Dr. Singer frowned.

"Mmm. How so?"

"Well, I'm not really sure why I'm still here. I passed out, I woke up, and I feel fine. Can I just go?" Marco was still used to hospitals on Heckapoo's dimension. He never stayed at one longer than an hour. That probably said more about the effectiveness of magic based remedies more than anything, though. This Science shit took forever by comparison.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Dr. Singer said, without a second of hesitation. Behind him, Star eagerly pointed to the scissors in her hand, most likely offering him a way out.

Marco gestured back a "no", and Dr. Singer turned around to look at Star.

"Your condition actually is a very serious matter, and I would like everyone who isn't direct family to leave this room immediately." He stared at Jackie, Janna, and Star expectantly. It was clear by the looks on their faces that none of them wanted to leave. Janna was the first to respond.

"Okay, fine. Let's go," Janna said, grabbing Jackie's arm and starting to drag her toward the door.

"Janna! I could've went on my own, you know," Jackie said.

"No you wouldn't," Janna smiled. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He's a fighter."

Jackie had no response. She simply looked at Marco one more time, waved goodbye to him, and followed Janna to the hallway. Only Star remained.

"Well, what about me? I'm his roommate, so I should get to hear this too, right?" Star asked.

"Are you his sister?" Dr. Singer asked.

"Oh, she's from the foreign exchange student program," his mom said. "She's been living with us for the school year."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave anyway. No exceptions," Dr. Singer said.

"But that's not fair!" Star said. Marco's dad put his hand on her shoulder.

"Star, we'll-"

"I have a right to know! And so do Jackie and Janna! We're his best friends!" Star interrupted.

Dr. Singer sighed. "Don't act like such a brat. I don't know where you're from, young lady, but we do things differently in this country."

Dr. Singer took out a what looked like a file from his clipboard. Marco's full name seemed to be written on the side. Star just glared at Singer with a confused look.

"This file contains _extremely_ sensitive information on your friend's condition. What good would it do to share this with you? Perhaps you'd like to start gossip in school and share it with others? Maybe post it on social media, leading to more people prying into his situation?"

"What!? I would never-"

"And even if you don't have I'll intentions, this file should be limited to people would can _help_ Marco. Namely, trained professionals and his guardians. What can a teenager like you contribute?"

"If there's something wrong with Marco, I can fix it with magic!" Star showed her wand to everyone for extra emphasis.

"How old are you?" Dr. Singer asked.

"14 and a half."

"You're at the age where you have to stop believing in an end-all, fix-all solution to life's problems. The world isn't so straightforward," he said. "You can't just wave a toy at things and expect them to get better."

"Oh, I'll show you a toy!" Star said, holding her wand up. It was starting to glow green.

"Star, stop. It's okay," Marco said. He didn't want a disaster to happen just because his doctor was an asshole. Star lowered her wand and bit her lip.

"Oh, look at that. It even lights up," Dr. Singer said, mockingly. "How cute."

Marco saw what looked like tears in Star's eyes as she rushed out of the room.

" _So Marco, I just got the coolest idea, hear me out."_

 _Marco sighed. "Allion, I'm already getting a tattoo for you, what else do you want?"_

 _"I want it to light up," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She turned around to show her back and traced along the back of her bottom rib, where Marco's name was written in a pale blue. "You can't tell me it doesn't look cool."_

 _"I fail to see the tactical advantage of a_ _ **Glow in the dark**_ _tattoo!" Plus, she didn't even get it in a nice color. That blue was barely visible in the light._

 _"You'll be wearing armor, Marco. It'll only be visible when your shirt's off!"_

 _"Oh, so you just want to be able to see your name in bed? You're such a narcissist."_

 _"You know it," she said. "Now pick a color and stop procrastinating."_

 _"It's just, I'm not sure if I can handle it. The needle, I mean."_

 _"Marco, a week ago you fought for an hour with six arrows sticking out of you. You can handle a tattoo!"_

 _"Yeah, but, what if it hurts, you know?"_

 _"Are you sure he's old enough for a tattoo, lady?" the tattoo artist asked, smirking._

 _"I swear, he's actually really badass most of the time," Allion said. "Marco, stop embarrassing me!"_

 _"Explain to me again why I'm even getting this stupid tattoo?" Marco said. It made no sense to him that he would be getting a tattoo that he couldn't even see._

 _"Because we've got each other's backs!" she said, patting him hard on the back. "Come on, it's like, symbolic of our… love and stuff." Words of a poet._

 _"Fine, whatever. Let's get it over with."_

 _"You still need to pick a color," the tattoo artist said. Marco sighed._

 _"Allion, what's your favorite color again?"_

 _"The blue of the sky at its peak!" she said, trying to sound sophisticated._

 _"Alright," Marco said._

 _He turned to the artist._

 _"Put it in red."_

Marco flinched back at the bright light suddenly blinding him. He blinked a few times to get the spots out of his vision and he heard a click. The light disappeared and he was face to face with Dr. Singer, who was putting his flashlight back into his coat pocket.

"What's your name?" he asked, as if he were giving out some sort of test.

"Uh, Marco Diaz?" he said, and the doctor nodded. He must have passed out again.

"Does this happen to you often, Marco?" He stood up, probably to give Marco some space.

"Um, does what happen often?"

"You just went unresponsive for almost a minute." Dr. Singer wrote something down onto his clipboard. Marco's parents were worriedly looking between the doctor and him.

"Oh, uh, yeah. It does," Marco said. This only seemed to worry Dr. Singer more.

"It didn't say here that you had any pre-existing conditions. No history of seizures or anything like that. When did this start happening?"

"Uh." Was it after he came back or after he woke up? He couldn't exactly place a moment when he had a flashback before he'd passed out, but he was exhausted. He could have just forgotten. "I don't know."

"Are you conscious during these episodes in any way? What do you experience during them?"

Marco frowned. Dr. Singer hadn't been the nicest man so far, but he was a medical professional. There wasn't much to lose from telling him.

Who knows, maybe he could even help.

"I been having flashbacks."

Marco's parents gasped quietly and Dr. Singer took a step back and seemed to reassess Marco completely. "What are they of?"

Marco looked around the room. Only him, his parents, and Singer remained. Oh yeah, Star had left just before he blacked out.

Dr. Singer followed Marco's eyes and stared at his parents. He turned back towards Marco.

"It's okay, Marco," Dr. Singer said. "Please be honest with me. I guarantee it can only benefit you."

Singer was clearly a man of science. One mention of other dimensions and magic would be waving a red flag. Marco thought of how to word his answer.

"Are these flashbacks about your parents?" Dr. Singer said, in an almost accusational tone.

"What? Um, no, so far they haven't been in one."

"Then what about a teacher or student from school? Anyone that's been bothering you lately?"

"Well, that girl that was here earlier, Jackie Lynn Thomas, was in one of them. It was from a date we had awhile ago."

"Was there anything particular about this date?"

Well, the fact that Marco didn't even _remember_ the date prior to the flashback probably meant it wasn't too noteworthy. It was so hard trying to remember things from sixteen years ago, though. Attempting to even recall the morning before he meet Heckapoo brought about it's own headache

"No, it was pretty standard stuff, actually."

Dr. Singer began vigorously writing on his clipboard. "Have these flashbacks occurred while you are standing up or active?"

"To be honest, I think I've only had them on this bed so far."

Dr. Singer stopped writing. He turned towards Marco's parents again.

"Your son passed out two nights ago from exhaustion, correct?"

His parents looked at each other, silently deciding who should answer. Eventually, his mother spoke.

"Yes. We… didn't see it ourselves, though. Both Rafael and I went out for dinner when it happened. He and Star had a couple of friends over that night. They were the ones who called the hospital.

Dr. Singer raised his eyebrow.

"So in other words, you allowed them to throw a party in your absence?"

His parents looked physically hurt by that question.

"Y-yes… I suppose you're right. It was irresponsible of us," his Dad said.

"It wasn't that big of a deal though," Marco said. "We weren't doing anything illegal, just playing some games. I passed out because I kept myself up over school. That's it."

Dr. Singer wrote a bit more on his clipboard before responding.

"Well, it _is_ nearing the end of the school year for you, which can be a very stressful time for high school students. However, I believe there is some underlying cause to these flashbacks."

"Such as…?" Marco asked.

"Flashbacks and dissociation from what's going on around you are common symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."

And here Marco thought he was going to learn something he _didn't_ already know.

Marco's mom bit her lip, and his dad awkwardly scratched at his arm. They both looked ten times more concerned for Marco than they'd been before. And that was saying something.

"But wait," Marco said, "my flashbacks haven't really been about anything traumatic." And Marco had a goddamn library of traumatic experiences. "Everything I've seen so far has been random and disjointed."

"That is quite interesting," Dr. Singer said. "We also have no idea what _triggers_ these flashbacks."

Marco's parents shared a look again. Despite being in the know about Marco's experience in Heckapoo's dimension, they weren't sure what the cause was, either.

"What do we do then?" his mom asked.

Dr. Singer got up and put his pen back in his front pocket. "We will have to try certain tests at a later date. I just don't have enough concrete information right now. Eventually though, I'd like to speak with Marco's friends individually to get their testimonies about the night he passed out." Oh yeah, Marco would love to see Dr. Singer talk to _Tom_.

"I'm sure we can arrange that," his dad said. "Thank you so much for helping our son, Doctor."

Marco's father went up to the doctor and extended his hand for a handshake, but Dr. Singer did not reciprocate. Instead, he made his way to the other side of the room till he stood in front of a board with papers pinned all over it. He opened up the file he'd been carrying since he arrived.

"There is... another matter we need to discuss, pertaining to Marco's health."

His parents were starting to look pale. It was clear from Dr. Singer's mannerisms that this is what he wanted to discuss in the first place. The blacking-out-with-flashbacks thing was just the calm before the storm, apparently.

Marco wasn't sure what to expect, but he quickly theorized he may have caught some undiscovered disease in Heckapoo's dimension that wasn't on Earth. Probably due to some uncooked Volraffe meat or something. In all honesty, Marco was more worried about his parent's reactions than anything else. He was used to bad news, but they still had a pretty optimistic worldview, one that had been slowly eroding since he came back through that portal.

"I would first like apologize for how I acted towards the young lady earlier. In hindsight, it was out of line," Dr. Singer said.

"You think so?" Marco said. His comment went ignored.

"But it cannot be understated how important the information in this file is, and how it's contents can only be shown to those on a need-to-know basis. I was going to go to my superiors with these results, but I felt Marco should know about this first."

"This sounds serious," his mom said. Dr. Singer simply nodded.

"When Marco was first admitted here, we ran some bloodwork, to check for any reasons he could have lost consciousness."

"Okay," his dad said, dragging out the word in anticipation.

"We had some odd findings, so we continued testing, trying to get some sort of conclusive results-" Dr. Singer turned to face Marco's parents, avoiding Marco entirely. "I'll just show you."

He pulled out a large picture so that they could see clearly. It looked like a circle with another circle inside of it.

"This is a human cell," he said, "or rather, what a human cell normally looks like."

After everyone showed that they understood, he pulled out another sheet of paper. This one looked like a matted ball of spikes and bumps.

"These are the kinds of cells we found in Marco's blood."

He paused to let it sink in. Marco stared at the picture in awe. He wasn't exactly up to date on Earth medicine, but the difference between the pictures was immediately apparent.

"In my thirty-five years of study, I've never seen anything like this. It's likely we stumbled on some sort of breakthrough."

"Oh my god," his mom said.

"What does this mean?" his dad said. Marco's parents stared at him, probably trying to notice anything about his body that they hadn't before. Marco still had his eyes on the picture.

"I'll get straight to the point. Your son may well be the first person to be discovered with a new type of disease. And with your cooperation, I'd like to be able to learn more about it, and hopefully find it's origin, as well as seeing if it's contagious."

"But what about our son?" his mom said. "Is this… deadly? Are you able to find a cure?"

"And shouldn't I be quarantined or something right now?" Marco said. Perhaps he gave Singer too much credit. This entire hospital could be infected by now.

Dr. Singer smiled. "That's the interesting thing. As far as I can see, this disease hasn't produced any negative effects inside Marco whatsoever. In fact, the opposite is true."

No one said anything. Marco and his parents just stared at Singer in confusion.

"These mutated cells have been actively repelling toxins and bacteria from the area they're in. They seem to be contained in Marco's right arm, and have made no attempt to spread across his body, but I theorize that if they were to, Marco could be immune to most types of sickness."

Wait, did he say his right arm?

Oh.

 _Oh._

"Oh," Marco said. In Heckapoo's dimension, science wasn't advanced enough to identify curses, especially dormant ones, so it was kind of cool that Earth science could.

"So, Marco's okay?" his mom asked.

Even when he reverted back to a bunch of minuscule cells, that guy was still causing trouble for Marco. Go figure.

"Well, we still need to do extensive tests, but I firmly believe that if we could discover how Marco came across this disease, and we found a way to manipulate it, it has the potential to benefit many people."

At least Marco now knew why Kar made no attempt at talking to him. The simple answer was he couldn't.

"I know what it is." Marco said.

Marco's parents looked over at him and a mix of emotions ran across their faces.

"Um, okay?" his dad said.

"What do mean you 'know' what this is?" Dr. Singer said. Marco actually wanted to give him an answer. He wouldn't believe the truth, though, and Marco couldn't really think of a bullshit explanation, so instead he just turned to his parents.

"I know _exactly_ what it is. And we shouldn't really do anything about it. Can we just go home?"

"Oh! Uh, okay then!" his mom said. Marco got off the bed and wobbled a bit as his feet hit the ground. Oh, right. He forgot he'd lost his-

"You can't possibly be serious!" Dr. Singer said. "This could be revolutionary!"

"Are you sure about this?" his dad asked, speaking exclusively to Marco. Dr. Singer looked at Marco's parents like they'd gone insane.

"Yeah. I mean, you heard it from the doc himself. It's only a good thing, so we don't need to be here anymore," Marco said. He took an uneasy step forward and balanced himself. It would take a little bit to get used to, but he could handle it. Thankfully no one in the room seemed to notice his balancing problems.

"Alright," his mom said with a finality that she usually reserved for special occasions. She turned to Dr. Singer and smiled politely. "We're ready to leave now, Dr. Singer. Do you have anymore paperwork we need to sign?"

"You're listening to him?" Dr. Singer asked.

"Yes. We trust his judgement," his dad said. Marco smiled. It was nice to be treated like an adult again.

"But he's just a kid! He doesn't know what he's talking about." Man, this guy was starting to irritate Marco. Was he _that_ desperate for his family's money?

"Please, Doctor. Marco may _look_ young, but he's very mature for his age," his mom said.

"And I'm pretty sure _no one_ wants what's really in my arm," Marco said. "Trust me."

Singer's eyes widened. "So there's a negative effect of this disease that you're hiding?"

Marco groaned. "It's not a disease or a mutation! It's a stupid curse!"

"Again with the magic? I'm not an idiot."

"I don't care if you believe me or not. I'm leaving." Marco walked up closer to his parents.

Singer frowned. "Do you expect me to keep your condition a secret? I'll go to the CDC if I have to. And you two." He pointed at Marco's parents. "I can't believe how irresponsible you are. If you aren't going to help your son, then I'll be reporting you both for child neglect."

Marco's parents were starting to get worried again, but Marco turned towards them.

"Guys, I don't want to become this place's lab rat. I know I'm not normal anymore, okay? And I'll probably never be normal again, but I want to at least _try_. I _want_ to pick up the pieces from what I left here. I _want_ to do well in school again. I _want_ to be with Star and Jackie. And more than anything…" Marco took a stabilizing breath. "I want to go back to being your son. I can't be that if I turn into some national freak show!"

"Oh, Marco," Marco's parents said in unison, tearing up a little.

"You won't be some guinea pig, Marco," Dr. Singer said. "If the studies ever go public, we can promise you'd be anonymous, and your safety will be our priority." Marco's mom leaned over and whispered into his ear.

"Honey, is there anyway you can just show him it's magic?"

"Yeah," Marco said. But he didn't want to resort to it. He wished Star hadn't taken the scissors with her. It would have been the easiest way to do it, and if Singer still didn't buy into it, Marco could just use them to escape. Using a ritual right now wasn't even worth it. And even if he showed Singer something like Star's wand, he might still be convinced that the curse was biological. It was in his blood after all..

"Then just do it, Marco," his dad said. "I don't want to have you taken away from us again."

"Okay, I'll do it," Marco said. "You two might wanna keep your distance, though."

Marco's parents smiled and took two big steps backward. His dad gave him a reassuring thumbs up.

"Oh, let me guess," Dr. Singer said. "You're going to show me this 'curse'?"

"Yup," Marco said non-committedly. He closed his eyes and concentrated. Marco searched deep within himself.

 _'Come on, wake up asshole,'_ he thought.

No response. Was he even there? Marco dug deep and could feel him, but it felt like he wasn't even in one piece.

He really did go dormant when Marco came back to Earth.

Well, Marco wasn't about to look like an idiot in front of everyone, so he was coming out whether he wanted it or not.

Marco mentally grabbed what little he could sense of him and pulled it to the surface. Slowly, he could feel something moving through his arm. Wow, okay, this felt a _lot_ different from the last time he did it. It took way more concentration than usual, but he just kept pulling.

For a moment, nothing happened, and then Marco felt him awaken. His arm started to burn and tingle. Marco clenched onto his hospital gown with his free hand to brace himself.

His arm exploded in pain and it started to shift in shape. His bones disintegrated and his flesh melted and holy shit Marco hadn't hurt his bad in a long time. Distantly, he heard a scream as his arm formed into its new shape. After what seemed like forever, the pain eventually subsided.

 **"Ugh,"** Kar'Margorach said. **"What the fuck was that? I feel like I had to form through a meat grinder."**

"You and me both," Marco said, trying to blink away the spots from his eyes.

"Oh, it's just that tentacle arm thing," his mom said with a sigh of relief. Wait, what?

"Mom, you know about him?"

"What in god's name is that?!" Dr. Singer screamed, his legs shaking in fear.

"He's just-"

"Help!" he yelled. "S-someone help!" Man, Marco was pretty happy that the place was soundproof.

 **"Ugh, can somebody shut him up? My headache's bad enough as it is,"** Kar said.

Dr. Singer looked between Kar and the door and then tried to make a break for it. Marco quickly blocked the door off. Maybe this wasn't too bright of an idea in hindsight.

"Dr. Singer, you just need to understand," Marco said. Singer fearfully pulled his pen out and pointed it at Marco like a weapon.

"D-Don't make me use this!" His grip on the pen was tight enough to make his knuckles white. Kar effortlessly swiped the pen out of his hands and Singer whimpered.

 ** _'So why exactly did you summon me?'_** Kar thought to Marco. **_'I don't know why we're smaller now, but you still could've taken this guy by yourself.'_**

 _'I needed to prove that you were magic,'_ Marco thought back. _'They wanted to run tests on us.'_

 ** _'Like Ennio tests, or Fioran tests?'_**

 _'Ennio.'_

Kar got up closer to Dr. Singer. **"So I heard you were planning on** ** _experimenting_** **on me."**

"W-well, not _you_ in particular-"

 **"So then, just my** ** _host_** **?"**

"Y-your _host?_ You're some kind of parasite?"

 **"Who cares? The point is, if you want to get him, you'll have to get through me first."** Kar smiled menacingly at him.

"And you'll have to get through us, too!" his mom said, from over by the wall where she was safe.

"Uh. Thanks, mom," Marco said. It was kind of weird to be supported by his parents while he threatened someone's life.

"Someone! I need help!" Singer yelled.

"The room's soundproof, Dr. Singer. That won't work." Marco paused awkwardly. "This room… has a curse on it too."

All the life drained from Dr. Singer's face. He was done fighting.

 _'Kar, I can handle the rest. Return,'_ Marco thought. There was a short moment where Kar seemed to think it over.

 ** _'Fine, but you're telling me what's going on, later. I don't like being left in the dark like this.'_**

 _'Deal.'_

Kar'Margorach retreated into his arm and for a second Marco flinched, expecting the same kind of pain that had summoned him in the first place, but it was completely painless. Marco let out his held breath and looked back at Singer.

The poor man was shaking in fear. He looked at Marco like he was a nightmarish creature that had just come from under his bed. It wasn't anything new to him, but Marco kind of felt bad.

Marco coughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.

"Listen. Uh, sorry about that," Marco said, "but there wasn't really any other way to prove it to you." There was a short pause.

"What _are_ you?" Singer asked, barely above a whisper.

"I'm just a normal kid with a normal family that lives in a normal house in the normal Earth dimension," Marco said. Dr. Singer lifted his head up at the word 'dimension'.

"What _happened_ to you?"

"I left Earth," Marco said. "For a _long_ time."

Dr. Singer slid down to the floor and looked straight ahead silently. Marco's parents walked over to help him.

"Are you okay?" Marco asked. Dr. Singer just started laughing.

"That girl. She was magic, too, right?"

"Yes, she was," Marco's dad said.

"Do you need help?" his mom asked. Dr. Singer shook his head and kept laughing.

Slowly, his laughter died down. He never made any attempt to get up, and Marco could see the beginnings of tears brimming at his eyes.

"Just go," he said. "I need to… rethink some things."

Marco took a deep breath and turned toward the door. His parents were close behind him as the left the room and Singer alone.

"Marco, I think you broke him," his mom said.

"He'll be fine," Marco said. "I just think he hasn't been wrong in a long time." He was already on the way to accepting it, anyway. Marco could tell.

His dad squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and took a deep breath. "We're proud of you, Marco."

Marco didn't feel like he did anything praiseworthy. All he did was summon Kar'Margorach and let him intimidate Singer. Oh yeah.

"How did you guys know about Kar?" Marco asked. "I mean, the tentacle thing."

"Marco, you had your arm like that for two days. I know you and Star tried to hide it from us, but give us some credit," his mom said.

Marco chuckled. He probably underestimated his parents way too much.

"So, um, didn't Star get rid of him, though?" his dad asked. "How did he come back?"

"Oh, she did. But then there was this weird cult and one of their stupid ceremonies backfired and it brought him back and me and him have just been kinda stuck together since."

"Is he, um, evil?" his dad asked.

"Not anymore-"

 _Marco squinted his eyes in confusion. "What do you mean, you won't do it?"_

 ** _"I'm not going to be your scapegoat anymore. You keep pointing fingers at me and Elesh and whatever else you can blame. If you're so fueled by revenge, do it yourself. Go ahead."_**

 _Kar gestured to the terrified members of Ridhon's gang._

 ** _"Kill them all. This one's all you."_**

Marco's face was an inch from the floor, his body being held up by two pairs of arms. He sucked in a breath. That could have been bad.

"Marco?" his dad asked.

"Did you have another flashback?" his mom asked.

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Marco said. They helped him back to his feet.

"It's not your fault, honey," she said, putting her hand on his face.

"Um, Marco?" his dad said. Marco turned to him.

"Yeah?"

"What happened to your pinkie toe?"


	15. Chapter 15: Missing Pieces

_Marco was barely holding on to consciousness. Those Sentin guild members really did a number on him. They had finally left him alone in the dungeon with Allion. She was chained up on the other side of the room, already passed out. The fact that neither of them had stab wounds probably meant Scarion wanted to talk to them first. To find out if Marco had told anyone else of his plans._

 _Marco coughed blood onto the floor._

 _"Shit," Marco said. Their mission was a complete and utter failure. How the hell did Scarion one-up them like that? They had him outnumbered from all angles, and yet_ _ **they**_ _were the ones taken by surprise. There could have been a traitor among them, but Allion had used the Truth Ritual on the Zonst soldiers just before the mission. All of them were loyal. Actually, the only one who wasn't interrogated was…_

 _"Hey, Allion. Wake up."_

 _Her eyes were shut. She was still breathing at least. It's not like she would hear him anyway. Marco's throat was so dry he couldn't even muster an indoor voice._

 _Marco looked around the room, trying to find something to keep himself entertained for the next few hours or so. He certainly wasn't going to sleep. If Scarion was as cocky as Marco assumed, then perhaps he'd come in to gloat. Maybe get distracted enough that Marco could put him in a chokehold with his legs. It was stretch, but he was pretty resourceful under pressure._

 _Unfortunately the dungeon was completely void of anything noteworthy. Marco recalled hearing that they'd be taken to the Council's dungeon upon capture. The place was so nicely maintained there weren't even any skeletons or feces left in it. He only kept staring back at Allion, the sight of whom didn't exactly give any comfort. Either because she had just been brutally beaten or because Marco still didn't know what to think of her since the failed assassination attempt._

 _Marco heard voices coming from outside the dungeon. They were just faint enough that he couldn't recognize or understand them. They were like bugs buzzing near his ear yet still just out of reach. It was kind of annoying._

 _He looked up at his hands, which were securely chained. He couldn't get them close enough to each other to perform a ritual. Damn._

 _Marco took a deep breath through his nose and a foul stench made him cough a little. If the dungeon hadn't been recently cleaned, he would've assumed it was from his location, but another sniff confirmed that it was just his own body odor. Ugh, he missed deodorant. Everyone smelled here._

 _He wondered what Star and his family were up to right now. How long had it been since he left Earth? Five years or so? Star would be an adult now, just like him. She was probably ruling her kingdom now and winning war after war against monsters and she wouldn't have ever gotten stuck in a dungeon awaiting her death-_

 _His parents might have switched to foster care. They always loved taking care of other people's kids, so it would make sense that they'd do that permanently as a replacement for him. They probably forgot about him by now. With a constant stream of kids in and out, he just became one of the many, a passing thought that they might have every now and then. They wouldn't ever have known he was dead-_

 _Maybe Jackie Lynn Thomas had become some sort of skateboarding star. She probably had men tugging at her heels all day, but she'd settled down with some nice guy and start a family. They'd live in a suburban white picket fenced house and he would be a loyal husband and not try to kill her even once, and she would never even have a passing thought about that poor kid Marco who disappeared years ago and was now dead-_

 _Janna probably ran a criminal drug ring with her hitman girlfriend. She never did any of the drugs, but she sure made money off of them, and they lived in this big mansion on some remote island where no one could touch them and they would never get caught and end up on death row-_

 _Heckapoo was likely sitting in some castle somewhere, about to add Marco to a long list of people who didn't make it. She would check the clock every minute, waiting impatiently for when she can call the game off and go capture another idiot who thinks they can just spend their whole life trying to get some lousy pair of scissors. She just needed to sit back and wait for the moment he finally died..._

 _..._

 _Oh god, he was going to die in this room._

 _"Marco?" Allion rasped. Marco looked over at her._

 _"Oh my god, Allion, are you okay?" Finally, something to distract him from his inevitable doom._

 _"I'm goddamn peachy," she said before spitting up some blood that must have gathered in her mouth._

 _Well, at least her sass could keep him distracted until they died. Allion looked around her until she realized where they'd been taken._

 _"You fucked up bad, Marco."_

 _"Uh, excuse me?"_

 _"I told you to cut off his hands the second we saw him."_

 _"Allion, he ambushed us. I didn't even get a chance."_

 _"How the hell do you think he ambushed us, Marco? It's clear you weren't fast enough the first time. You let him get away."_

 _"You're not making any sense right now. Scarion never used a ritual."_

 _Allion didn't respond. She just glared at Marco with a look of disappointment. "We could have just shot an arrow through his head right there, but no! You had to stand by your stupid 'don't kill anyone' creed."_

 _"Whatever. Talk to me once you start acting normal." Marco wished she had just stayed asleep. Allion wasn't finished, though._

 _"I hope sustaining your giant ego was worth it, Marco, because it's getting us killed today."_

 _"Oh, I'm sorry I don't take joy in murdering people like you do, Allion! I should really get that looked at!"_

 _"It's not about enjoying it! It's about protecting yourself, you stupid asshole!"_

 _Marco blinked._

 _"In the five years we've been dating, that's was the one thing I never got about you. Your bizzare fetish for keeping everyone alive. Every time you thought you were being cute by sparing some awful person. Like they'd turn a new leaf now that the merciful 'Marco of Zonst' gave them a second chance at life. I can guarantee everyone you spared went right back to raping and pillaging, all while laughing at how much of a gullible idiot you are."_

 _"Shut up, Allion."_

 _"What about last year with Cristori? Remember her? Our archer who was diagnosed with Kamasotz? Everyday she was deteriorating and we all accepted she was going to die. She asked for a painless death, but_ _ **you**_ _said no. You ordered everyone to keep her alive. She ended up suffering for two agonizing weeks til she couldn't bare it anymore. You weren't even there for her burial."_

 _"I was out there looking for a cure!"_

 _"There is no cure for Kamasotz! No one's found one for hundreds of years, what made you think you'd be the 'special chosen one' who'd stumble upon it? God, it's things like this why you're such a terrible guildmaster and everyone in Zonst hates you."_

 _Marco stared at Allion in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Do people… not like how I've been doing things lately?"_

 _She simply rolled her eyes. "Marco, you suck at being guildmaster. You have no sense of leadership, you waste our budget and resources, and I honestly think you spent more time out there hunting Heckapoo clones than you did in the province you ruled over. Oh, and now we can add those dozens of dead Zonst soldiers to the list too."_

 _Marco flinched._

 _"And it was always_ _ **me**_ _who had to pick up the slack. I was the one who had to answer for your myriad of fuck-ups. While you were out there having fun adventures, I was in Zonst doing everything like some glorified secretary. It was humiliating!"_

 _Allion started hyperventilating. She had stopped talking, even though it seemed like she had even more to say._

 _Marco looked at the ground. As much as he wanted to give her an excuse, he couldn't. Probably because there_ _ **wasn't**_ _a good excuse. Allion was right. He was a terrible guildmaster. He thought it would have been fun and games when he started, but it didn't take long for him to get overwhelmed by the responsibilities, and he would use anything to justify avoiding his duties._

 _In reality, Marco didn't care that much about Zonst or Qur Don. He was always focused on Heckapoo because he just wanted to go home. He missed his old life more than anything. He just wanted to earn those scissors and never look back at this dimension. Why did he even stay in Zonst for so long after blowing out that Heckapoo's flame?_

 _Marco looked at Allion again. Oh. Right._

 _He took a deep breath. They were definitely going to die soon, but they might as well die on good terms._

 _"Ally, I'm… sorry. I didn't realize I was being such a jackass."_

 _Allion was avoiding eye contact. "You know, there was always a part of me that was hoping you'd up and leave Qur Don for good. Like, eventually you'd realize how much time you were wasting here, and finally go off to find the remaining Heckapoos."_

 _Marco closed his eyes. He didn't realize just how strained their relationship had become. Of course, he was too fixated on Heckapoo to even notice. Why was he such an-_

 _"...And I'd come with you."_

 _Marco jolted. "What?"_

 _"Ever since you became guildmaster, my brother was expecting me to kill you. I spent months stressing over what I should do. I wish I was smarter back then, cause then I would've realized how I didn't really give a shit about Qur Don or Scarion's ambitions. I just wanted to be with you, Marco."_

 _"Ally."_

 _"I wanted to go out there with you, hunting down every last one of those bitches who thought they could hurt you and get away with it. It would have been amazing. Just you and-" Allion was cut off by the dungeon door opening._

 _Scarion silently walked in and closed the door behind him. As he made his way to the middle of the room, Marco got a good look at the guy for the first time since the last guild master meeting. He noted the iron gauntlets Scarion was wearing._

 _Scarion had taught Allion everything she knew about the rituals, a forbidden magic that was shrouded in mystery. Allion had, in turn, taught Marco everything he knew about rituals. Marco could do some of them, but Scarion was a master. It was how he worked his way up to guildmaster status._

 _Physically, Scarion was a scrawny man. If it came down to a fistfight, Marco could take him down easily, but Marco knew how much Scarion outclassed him. The man could do anything Marco could imagine, and probably more. Allion had taught Marco maybe a dozen rituals, but Scarion knew hundreds._

 _Their only chance had been to cut his hands off. Which would of course be pretty impossible now with their bodies retrained and those gauntlets on Scarion._

 _"Marco of Zonst," Scarion said, slowly and deliberately. Marco looked up at his face to give some witty retort, but stopped short._

 _"What happened to your eye?" Marco asked._

Marco blinked a few times as the flashback faded away. His parents were watching him intently. Once they realized he'd come back, they tried to give him some room. When Marco's vision stopped blurring, he noticed they were in the hallway, sitting on some chairs against the wall.

"Honey, what did you see this time?" his mom asked.

"I, uh." He didn't even know where to begin explaining what his memory was of. "I spent a day in a dungeon once. I just relived that."

His parents simply nodded. At this point, something like that didn't seem too shocking to them. They were finally beginning to grasp what a rollercoaster Marco's quest was. The fact that they didn't freak out was actually quite comforting.

Of course he neglected to mention that it took place on the day of Allion's death, as well as the same day where Marco learned the price for using the-

"Oh, yeah. You guys asked about my toe, right?"

His parents frowned while glancing down at his right foot.

Marco wiggled his nine toes. He then brought his right foot up to examine it. He rubbed against the spot where his pinkie toe should've been. Yup, it was gone for good. Thank god he knew the language this time when using the Rewind Ritual. If he hadn't been specific, it would have taken something from his body at random. Just like all those other times…

"Does it… hurt?" his dad asked.

"No," Marco said. In fact, he never felt his toe leaving him when he time traveled. He was always unconscious during that part. It's usually a painless procedure, unless it takes some internal organ. Supposedly, there have been cases where users of the Rewind Ritual are unlucky enough to lose their brain or heart in the process, which basically kills them.

Marco starred as his foot again. Yeah, he could definitely live with this.

"What in the world happened, Marco?" his mom said with a look of concern.

Marco glanced at both of them. They had now been treating him like an adult. It was only fair that he showed them the same respect. No more lies.

"I time travelled using something called a Rewind Ritual, and the price for doing that is that I lose a piece of my body."

"Time travelled?" his dad said. They both stared at him with wide, curious eyes.

"Uh, yeah. It happened back in the hospital room. At one point things went really south so I travelled back to fix things."

They didn't say anything. His dad was rubbing his chin and his mom was biting on a nail. Marco knew it would take them a few seconds to process it. But then again, he did just reveal to them that he had a tentacle demon living inside his arm, so time travel didn't seem _too_ farfetched.

His mom let go of her nail. "What could be so bad you'd be willing to lose part of your _body_ to fix it? Was it Dr. Singer?"

"Uh, no, it happened before he came in." Marco paused, thinking carefully how to word this. "What happened was, you guys found out some stuff about me... with the wrong context, and, way too soon for that matter, and uh, things just got really bad from there."

"What happened though? Was it something _we_ did?" his dad asked.

Don't lie. Don't lie. Don't lie.

"It wasn't so much anything _you_ did, but your reactions didn't help. You started thinking something was wrong with me, like, I was no longer your son," which was partially true. "And you just wanted me to stay on the bed, likely so I wouldn't hurt anyone."

His parents looked at each other anxiously. It took a moment before anyone spoke.

"Honey, I'm sorry," his mom said. " _We're_ sorry. I'm sure we didn't…"

"Mom, it didn't even happen now," Marco said. "I went back and changed things. It's only in my memory now."

"You mean, like your time in the other dimension?" his dad asked. Marco frowned.

"What do you mean? They're completely different."

"Not really. When you came back from that dimension, you went right back to the moment you left. It's almost like you lived all those years and then just time travelled back to that moment, right?"

"Yeah, but I got the scissors. I have proof that it all happened."

"You mean like your missing toe?" his dad asked.

"Yeah, but…" Marco stopped. They couldn't be suggesting that he treat his time in Heckapoo's dimension like some undone timeline, right?

"Marco, we just don't want you to pretend like what happened in that room didn't affect you," his mom said. " _We_ might not remember it, but that doesn't mean it was any less real. The fact that you experienced it is enough."

Marco didn't want to think about it that way. If every doomed timeline was real, then everything he'd done in Mirria was a waste. Every person, every life, had he really saved anyone in the end? Did he create a version of Earth where his family and friends had to deal with him and Star being gone forever?

"Marco!" His dad wrapped him in a hug. "It's okay, Marco." Marco hadn't realized he started hyperventilating.

"I'm okay. I'm okay," he said slowly.

"If you ever need to talk about anything, you can talk to us," his mom said, rubbing Marco's back, right where his tattoo had been. "You don't have to keep it between you and Star, you know?"

Marco lifted his head out of the hug. "What?"

"Back when you were acting strange and you and Star had alone time, that was about your time travelling, wasn't it?"

Marco scratched his head. Damn, his parents were perceptive.

"You're right. I did tell Star about it."

"And how did she take it?" his dad asked.

"Well, the thing is, she _kept_ her memories of the previous timeline, which isn't how the Rewind Ritual's supposed to work, by the way. Only I should remember everything, but somehow, so did she. She has no idea how it happened either."

Just as Marco was finished talking, a patient walked passed them and gave an interested stare. He must have heard a little of what Marco said. H i s parents froze like an Osacontt at sunset, but as soon as it became apparent that the eavesdropper didn't care, they eased up a little. Marco remembered that he was talking about time travel in public, so he should've been more careful. He didn't want to embarrass anyone.

After seeing that the hallway was empty again, his mom continued. "So, she knows about the, um, 'bad stuff' about you?"

Marco looked away. He knew they wanted to relearn what he did. Both of their expressions were a mix of supportive and morbid curiosity. They both knew that even with the context, it was something bad.

On the one hand, Marco truly wasn't at fault for Toza's death. He was kidnapped and brainwashed and wasn't really in control of himself. On the other hand, months _before_ he was kidnapped and brainwashed, he stabbed Scarion 23 times with a rusted piece of metal, well past the point of killing him.

And he sure hadn't been the last man he's killed.

Marco looked back at his parents. They had spent his entire life raising him to never hurt people, to forgive and forget. They were the reason he went so long with that stupid "don't kill anyone" rule.

It was fine for them, cooped up in a suburb where the worst they'd have to deal with was a misguided kid vandalizing a wall, but once you were down in the trenches, once it was you or them-

They couldn't possibly understand it. Everyone's reactions in the hospital room was proof enough.

Marco remembered vaguely a time when his grandfather died. Everyone was devastated. It was the worst thing that could ever possibly happen. But in Heckapoo's dimension, it was the norm. It was heralded as a miracle if anyone even lived long enough to _be_ a grandparent. Death was just another part of life.

Here, it was like they avoided any mention of it. It was the _worst_ thing you could bring to someone, which was far from the truth.

He wondered if they'd accept him if he told them it was during a war. They had wars on Earth. People must die all the time in them, on both sides, so if he compared it to that, maybe they would understand?

No- they hadn't _been_ in a war. Whether they knew of them or not, they were sitting comfortably in their cozy little house, where they can judge from afar. Janna and the others didn't care about the context. The fact that Marco took the life of another instantly made him a monster.

Marco felt bile rise up in his throat and he promptly threw up onto the ground.

"Marco!" his dad shouted.

Okay, maybe he was working himself up too much over this.

"We'll talk about it later," his mom said nervously.

His parents started rubbing his back and asking if he was okay or if he needed anything.

"Oh my god, Marco," Jackie said. Marco turned and saw Jackie and Janna standing at the edge of the hall. They saw him throw up.

"Yuck," Janna said. God, he must have looked pathetic.

"Can you girls go get some paper towels?" his mom asked.

"Uhhhhh. Sure thing," Jackie said, and they turned and ran away.

Marco wondered if anyone noticed how red his face was.

"Marco, I'll go pick up your clothes to change into," his dad said. Marco looked down at the hospital gown he was in and noted that there was some vomit on it as well. Nice.

His dad left via the elevator that was a few feet from where they were sitting. It was just Marco and his mom now.

"Ugh, that was so embarrassing," Marco said with his face buried in his hands. "I can't believe I did that in front of Jackie."

"Well, least you're starting to act like an awkward teenager again," his mom said with a little chuckle. "And don't worry, I'm sure Jackie still likes you. That wasn't even the first time you threw up around her."

Marco lifted his head up. "What? Are you kidding me?"

His mom shook her head. "I think it was during third grade. You threw up on her lap. You were so embarrassed you didn't even want to go to school the next day."

Marco groaned. For half a second he was considering using the Rewind Ritual again. Pinkie toes weren't really _that_ important, after all.

"Oh," she said. "That reminds me. Apparently you guys kissed at one point?"

"Um, yeah, I was kind of ignoring her because of the whole me-being-an-adult thing, and she thought it was because I wasn't sure of our relationship, I guess?" Marco frowned. "Which was true, but I also didn't even remember being in a relationship with her in the first place, so it was kind of her way of trying to stabilize things, but it only really made things more complicated."

"I see…" his mom said. "It seems like she's still head over heels for you, though."

"Yeah, it does seem that way."

"Are you… interested in her, Marco?"

Marco thought about it. "I don't know. I mean, I think I might be, but at the same time I feel like a giant creep for even considering it, you know?"

His mom frowned. "Because you've been an adult."

"Because I _am_ an adult! I think!" He looked down at his foot. "Maybe?"

"Marco, I think you're whatever you want to be. You don't have to label it, dear."

"Well, besides that, I don't even know if Jackie and I are compatible..."

"Honey, you had a crush on her since kindergarten," his mom said.

"Yeah, but I haven't even held a legitimate conversation with her since I got back," Marco said. "It's just really… complicated."

His mom bit her lip. "Does Allion make it even more complicated?"

"Well, not really," Marco said. "I've been in relationships since she died. It _was_ ten years ago."

"Oh!" his mom said, eyes wide. "R-right."

Did he say something wrong?

"I'm sorry, Marco," she said. "I've just been having a really hard time grasping just how long you were gone. It keeps feeling like you're just telling us about this dream you had, but you really had an entire life in the other place, didn't you?"

"Yeah, it is kind of bizarre…"

"Marco, did you ever think about us while you were gone?" his mom asked tentatively.

"Oh, all the time," Marco said. "Like, I always wondered what you guys were doing without me and where your lives had gone. I'm just happy you guys didn't have to go through that too. I just wanted to get home so you guys wouldn't have to worry about me." And eventually he gave up on that dream, too.

"Oh, Marco…" His mom hugged him.

"Careful! I don't want to get my throw-up on you."

"I don't care, Marco," she said, holding him tighter. "I just want to hold my son." Marco hugged her back and they stayed like that for a while.

"You know, I just remembered something," Marco said softly.

"Another flashback?" his mom asked.

"No, no. Just... regular remembering," he said with a chuckle. "About one of the worst days in Heckapoo's dimension. My wallet got eaten, and it had my only pictures of you and dad in it. I had already forgotten your voices, and I was so scared I'd forget what you looked like now that I didn't have a reference."

"Marco…"

"And when I came back and Star brought me downstairs for dinner and I saw you guys- your faces were so much different in my head by then- I couldn't handle it. And once you asked if I was okay, your voice just broke me. That's why I broke down that night."

"Honey, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Mom. I just… I missed you so much." He felt like a broken record.

Marco heard the sound of footsteps coming and he pulled back from the hug.

"Sorry we took so long. You'd be surprised how hard it was to find a roll of paper towels we could take with us," Janna said.

"It's no problem," his mom said. His dad showed up while they were unrolling the paper towels and starting to clean the vomit up.

"Son, why don't you get changed while we clean this up?" his dad said, handing him his clothes.

"Um, yeah, sure," Marco said. He started walking away and then turned back around. "Where's the bathroom again?"

"Oh, Jackie, why don't you show him where it is?" his mom said, winking at him.

"Yeah, sure," Jackie said, standing up.

"Um, ok," Marco said. It felt weird having his mom as his wingman, but whatever. He was already beyond the point of embarrassing himself.

"Come on, this way," she said, walking down the hall. He walked alongside her.

"Thanks," Marco said. He still felt kind of useless in this dimension.

"No prob," she said. "So you really can't read anymore?" Marco frowned.

"No. Riradesh is completely different than English writing-wise, so I forgot."

"Oh, well it's pretty awesome that you know this cool alien language, at least," she said. "What's it look like?"

"Riradesh?"

"Yeah!"

"Uh, I don't really know how to explain it. It'd be easier if I could just show you…"

Jackie smiled and pulled out her phone. "Can you write it with your finger?" She tapped a few things and handed the phone to him. It looked like a white screen.

"What?"

"It's a drawing app. Just write something on it."

Marco looked down at the blank screen. "Like what?"

"Ummm," Jackie tapped her chin. "What about 'bathroom'?"

"Okay." Marco put his finger to the screen and started writing. It looked like a smooth pen stroke, but his handwriting was still just as bad as the last time he had to write with his finger like that. Of course, that time, it was in blood and it was a desperate attempt to get a dying message across.

He handed the phone back to her when he finished. He was pretty sure it looked like a child wrote it, but for using his finger it was at least legible.

"Here," he said. "It kind of looks like shit, though."

Jackie looked down at it with rapt attention. "Dude, this looks freaking awesome!"

"Really?" It was just the word bathroom.

"Yeah! It looks like a band symbol or something. This would look amazing on a skateboard!"

Marco laughed a little. "It says bathroom, Jackie."

"So? It'd have an ironic twist to it, like those people who get 'stupid foreigner' tattooed in Japanese on their shoulders!"

Marco laughed. "Maybe if it said 'this is not a skateboard' on it, it would be better."

Jackie laughed and quickly tapped at her phone again. She handed it back to him with a blank screen and expectant eyes. "Depends on what that looks like."

Marco smiled and started writing on the screen. There wasn't an actual word for skateboards in Riradesh, but there was a similar type of vehicle called a land surfer that was almost the same thing, so he put 'not a landsurfer from Earth' instead.

When he finished, he handed it back to her.

"There isn't a word for skateboard, so I improvised," he said. Jackie looked down at the phrase with just as much attention and awe as before.

"Rad." She looked back up at him and frowned. "No skateboards, huh? That place really does sound like hell."

Marco laughed and Jackie slowed to a stop outside a pair of doors.

"Oh yeah, here's the bathroom." She pointed to a little figure painted on the wall. "This means boys, and the other one means girls. You know, for future reference."

"I still don't get why this dimension has gendered bathrooms. It's all the same shit. Dysentery doesn't care what's between your legs, so why the hell should the toilet?"

"Yeah," Jackie said. "We're still working on that…"

"The dysentery? I thought you guys would've figured that out by now. You know, with all the science thrown around everywhere."

"I meant the gender stuff."

"Oh, yeah. That's definitely what I was talking about too."

Jackie chuckled. "Alright, if you say so. You'd better make some use of that lack of dysentery and go get changed already. You're starting to stink."

"Y-yeah." Marco rushed into the bathroom and into one of the stalls.

Wow, that was actually a nice conversation. Maybe the giant web of lies he was behind was the reason he'd had such a hard time talking to her before?

Huh. Who would've thought that being honest could work sometimes.

Marco pulled the hospital gown off and started getting dressed. As he put a pair of socks on (one of the luxuries he'd missed so much in Heckapoo's dimension), he sighed in satisfaction. He was lucky Jackie wasn't one of those people who stared at their feet while they walked and he was lucky she didn't question his balance problems. He really didn't want to have to explain his missing toe to her.

Baby steps. One truth at a time.

On the bright side, you couldn't even tell the difference once he put his shoes on. _He_ felt the difference, but he'd adjust to it pretty quickly. It really wasn't a big deal.

As Marco pulled his hoodie over his head, he heard a sound coming from the other side of the wall. It sounded like sobbing noises.

Wow, the hospital had really thin walls. Now that he was listening for it, he could hear what was happening in the girls' bathroom pretty clearly.

Wait, was that Star?


	16. Chapter 16: A World Left Forgotten

Marco stepped out of the bathroom. If it _was_ Star crying on the other side of that wall, it didn't feel right to listen in on it. She was probably upset because of the rude things Dr. Singer had said to her.

Man, that guy was such a dick.

Marco looked up and saw Jackie leaning against the wall, staring at her phone. As soon as she noticed him, she smiled and walked up to him.

"Well that didn't take long," Jackie said.

"Hmm, guess not." Bathroom trips didn't take _nearly_ as long when you weren't writing on walls and hiding from your peers. "I kind of just want to get out of this place. I need some fresh air for once. But, we should probably drop this off somewhere first." Marco held up the smelly hospital gown he was holding.

Jackie looked at the clothes before doing an exaggerated gag reflex. "Yeesh, you sure they even want it back, Marco?"

Marco knew Jackie was just kidding, but he still felt the fresh sting of embarrassment from when he threw up in front of her. Marco stood there, not sure how to respond, until she punched his arm.

"Calm down, Diaz! Don't get so worked up over a joke. You're fine."

Marco rubbed his arm awkwardly. It was incredible that after all his years gone and in and out of different relationships, he still felt flustered around Jackie, like he'd fallen right back into his crush on her.

Oh, crap. He _had_ fallen right back into his crush on her.

Jackie frowned. "Wait, you didn't throw up because of what the doctor said to you, right?"

"Oh! No, we... figured that out."

"Uh." Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Figured it out? Wasn't it some dire huge thing that he was pushing everyone out the door for? I'm pretty sure you can't just 'figure' that out in less than an hour."

Ugh. What was with everyone in this dimension wanting to know the details? Whatever happened to just turning to your comrade and nodding in agreement that you were both still alive? It's like no one had anything better to do other than snoop in people's business.

He supposed it made sense, what with all the boring non-life-threatening daily lives they led.

"Yeah," Marco said, "But... he made a mistake. It's all fine now."

Jackie seemed unconvinced. "A mistake? Really?"

What was he doing? He shouldn't lie to her. What did it matter if she knew about Kar? The guy would come out sooner or later anyway. And who knows, maybe she was secretly weird enough to actually dig it?

Marco bit his lip. He just had to say it was a demonic curse in his arm. "It was a magic-related thingy from my time in the other dimension."

What the hell? 'Thingy?' Why couldn't he bring himself to just tell her? Jackie still didn't look satisfied, and was starting to catch on to Marco's intentional vagueness.

Marco continued. "The doctor thought it was a weird disease." Come on, Marco… "It wasn't."

"So what was it?" Jackie asked, curiosity sparking in her eyes. Marco scratched the back of his head.

"Just some stupid magical scar-thing."

No! Marco, what were you doing? The truth! Tell the truth!

Jackie smiled deviously.

"So it's like a cool battle scar?" she asked, stepping towards him. "Can I see?"

"No. It's, uh, not really visible." Was he really about to dig himself into aother lie like this? He could trust her! Why was he lying?

"Hey guys, what're you two doing here?" Star asked as she came out of the girl's bathroom. Her eyes were puffy and red, but she was acting like nothing was wrong. Marco was more than happy to switch subjects, though.

"Marco just had to get dressed, so I was showing him where the bathrooms were," Jackie said, also pretending Star hadn't been crying.

Star looked at the bathroom and then back at Marco. She had a slight look of embarrassment on her face. Was she realizing Marco may have heard her?

"Hey, Star," Jackie said, putting her hand on Star's shoulder. "What's up, are you okay?"

Star stepped back. "Huh? What're you talking about? I'm fine. Why? Did Marco say something to you?"

"Well, it's just you were the last one to leave Marco's room after Janna and I, and when you did, you looked kind of were running so fast we couldn't even catch up to you."

Star smiled and waved her hand. "Oh, that? Pfft, that wasn't anything. I just left so I wouldn't get in everyone's way."

"You weren't in anyone's way, though," Marco said. "You just wanted to know what was wrong with me, and that Dr. Singer guy was being a jerk about it. I'm sorry if he made you feel bad."

Star looked down at the floor. She had always been someone who put a smile on for the sake of her friends. She was probably put off guard, being consoled by others when she was so often the one doing the consoling. She looked back up at them and had a smile across her face so wide, it would be hard to tell she was ever upset in the first place.

"Oh! No, no, no, no. It wasn't him. It was, uh, nothing," she said.

Jackie looked over at Marco with a face that questioned if they should press the subject.

Star would probably tell them if she wanted them to know, right? So they probably shouldn't push her.

"Hey, it's not _me_ we should be worrying about," Star said. "Marco's the one who's all sick and stuff."

"Actually, he's fine. The doctor said he's just got some magical scar thing," Jackie said.

"What? That's not what's wrong with him," Star said. Wait, what? "And besides, any scars he had would've disappeared when he came back to Earth."

"How do you know that?" Marco said.

"Wait, so you _don't_ have a magical scar, Marco?" Jackie said. Star sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

"Marco, you didn't tell her about 'the thing' while you were alone with her?" Star said.

"I didn't tell _you_ about 'the thing', Star!" Marco said. "How did you know about any 'thing'?" Marco wasn't even sure if they were referring to the _same_ "thing". Did she know about Kar? Did she assume it had something to do with the rituals?

"What's going on?" Jackie asked.

"Uh," Marco said.

"Um, we should get going," Star said, obviously trying to change the subject. "Marco's parents are probably worried by now. They might think he fell in or something!"

"No, we're staying on topic," Jackie said, with a demanding tone. "Both of you have some explaining to do. What's really going on with Marco?"

Marco and Star looked at each other.

 _Blood splattered on Marco's face. Thank god hydra blood wasn't acidic. You learn something new everyday._

 _"Graliah, I told you to stay in the wagon!" Yenol yelled to his daughter, who was about 20 feet away, watching in excitement._

 _"But I want to see it!"_

 _"You can see it just fine from over there with your mother."_

 _Marco threw his sword and hit the beast square between its eyes. He wished they'd ALL go back to the wagon so he could do his goddamn job._

 _"No, it just looks like blurs from over there. You know I can't see as well as you, father. Besides, Mr. Marco won't let me get hurt. He said so!"_

 _One of the beast's heads snapped down and grabbed Yenol's arm with its teeth. Yenol let out a loud scream. Marco pulled the sword from the now-dead head and sliced the neck of the beast, letting Yenol deal with the decapitated head himself._

 _He swore, no one was ever careful when they hyped him up like this._

 _He shoved Yenol out of the way and swung his sword down at another one of the beast's necks. Its head whipped around and caught the sword in its mouth instead._

 _"Shit," Marco said. The beast ripped the sword from his hands and then another set of teeth bore down into his shoulder. Marco grabbed one of his spare knives and stabbed the head repeatedly until it let go._

 _"Honey, Come back over here!" Delineaha yelled from the wagon. Marco stabbed another head as it tried to get at his legs._

 _"Okay, Mother!" Graliah yelled back. She scurried back toward the wagon. At least one of them could listen._

 _Another head aimed for his arm and he embedded his knife into its eye._

 _Crap. Only three more knives._

 _"Yenol! Get your useless ass over here! Let the man do his job!" Delineaha said once Graliah went inside._

 _Marco did a quick head-count. It was gunna be tricky dealing with dek more heads. He'd have to make the most of his remaining weaponry._

 _"I'm not some useless old man! I can handle myself!" Yenol said._

 _Marco quickly sliced open the neck of one of the heads as it tried to bite Yenol's face off. He overreached, though, and another head bit into Marco's arm._

 _Marco swore and punched the face with his other arm. The beast flinched but did not let go._

 _"Go. Back. To. The. Wagon," Marco ordered._

 _"Oh, but I can help!" Yenol said, who finally succeeded in removing the head off his arms._

 _"No, you really can't!"_

 _"_ _ **Why not? You look like you need all the help you can get,**_ _" Kar'Margorach said, as he formed from Marco's arm. He started strangling the head gripping Marco's other arm._

 _"Oh my god…" Yenol said. He looked like he shit himself._

 _"Kar, I told you to sit this one out!" Marco said. The head let go as it lost air and Kar promptly smashed himself into another head._

 _"_ _ **Yeah, because you said you could handle it yourself,**_ _" Kar said. "_ _ **Clearly, you can't. So here I am.**_ _"_

 _Marco took his now free and bleeding arm and used it to toss a knife at one of the heads' jugulars. Six heads left. "I was doing just fine, thank you. I just didn't want to freak them out."_

 _"_ _ **Yes, because you clearly look non-threatening and normal with your caved in stomach and gruff scars.**_ _"_

 _Marco's response got caught in his throat. "Okay, you've got me there. But I think a talking tentacle arm might be a little higher on the weird level."_

 _Kar wrapped himself around three of the beast's necks and ripped them open with his spines. "_ _ **So? What's one more level of weird gunna do? Scare them off from letting you protect them?**_ _"_

 _"Well, it sure won't make conversation any less awkward!" Marco pulled his last knife out and sliced across two of the necks._

 _"_ _ **Typical,**_ _" Kar said. "_ _ **You're willing to risk your life just to make things less awkward.**_ _" Kar snapped the last head and the beast fell to the ground._

 _There was a tense moment where Marco stared intently at the beast, and when none of the heads grew back, he let out a held breath. Finally, it was over._

 _"A-are you from The Reckoning?" Yenol asked, eyes wide. Oh, right. Marco had forgotten he was there, apparently being "helpful"._

 _"_ _ **Yes, we are,**_ _" Kar said, probably feeling like a celebrity._

 _"Kar!" Marco said. "You can't just tell people we were in The Reckoning!"_

 _"_ _ **But that would be dishonest! Good guys don't lie, Marco.**_ _"_

 _Marco rolled his eyes. He was already done with Kar's 'recently reformed good guy' attitude. To be honest (which Kar suggested he should be), it was half the reason he didn't want Kar to come out this mission. Everything he said managed to embarrass Marco._

 _"So the rumors are true!" Yenol said. He slowly walked over and examined Kar. "Anyone who managed to survive that massacre became mere vessels for their demonic masters!"_

 _"Well, you're wrong there. I definitely call the shots here." Marco pointed at Kar. "And don't worry about him. He's a monstertarian now. A strict no-people diet."_

 _Yenol didn't respond. He only kept staring._

 _"_ _ **You're not going to turn us in, are you?**_ _" Kar asked. "_ _ **I mean, it would the right thing to do, considering it's a law in many countries, but-**_ _"_

 _"Kar, just shut up," Marco said._

 _"Hey, you don't happen to know someone by the name of Vistebual, do you?" Yenol asked, ignoring Kar and Marco's petty argument._

 _It was a pretty strange thing to ask after a monster battle, but whatever. Marco thought back. "Sorry, the name doesn't ring a bell. Why?"_

 _"Oh, no reason," Yenol said, looking at the ground. "Anyway, we can figure all of this out later, we should get back to the wagon if we want to make any progress before nighttime."_

 _"Yeah," Marco said. "Let me just go grab my weapons first. I'll meet you over there."_

 _"Take your time," Yenol said, grabbing his bleeding arm. "Delineaha has to tend to my wounds, if she doesn't kill me first." Yenol walked back to the wagon, leaving Marco and Kar alone for a moment. Marco was surprised at Yenol's composure. It wasn't often that ordinary civilians took Kar'Margorach as well as he did. Perhaps it didn't even surprise him. With all the rumors about 'Marco the Freedom Fighter' going around, perhaps he even knew of that detail beforehand._

 _Marco took himself out of his trance and walked across the hydra-corpse, trying to find his knives in this gory mess like they were needles in a haystack._

 _"_ _ **I'm surprised word can travel so far,**_ _" Kar said, grabbing one of the knifes from a decapitated head. "_ _ **Do you think that's why he wasn't scared of me?**_ _"_

 _"I guess we're getting famous. We definitely seem to leave a mark wherever we go."_

 _"_ _ **Oh, I was referring to The Reckoning. Mirria is so far away from here, I figured-**_ _"_

 _"Kar, Mirria had a population of 4.3 million, and at least 3 million died that day. A catastrophe on that level wouldn't be left unnoticed," Marco said. "Oh, and he was definitely scared of you. He probably just figured that if we wanted to kill him, we would've done it by now."_

 _"_ _ **Uh, sorry. Didn't mean to bring up Mirria yet again.**_ _" Kar mumbled, placing some knives into Marco's hand._

 _"You don't have to keep apologizing for it. you know."_

 _"_ _ **You're right. Apologizing won't solve anything,**_ _" Kar said. "_ _ **Once we save 4.3 million people, though, we can strip that whole incident off our conscience.**_ _"_

 _Marco chuckled. "Yeah, okay."_

 _"_ _ **Listen, we're already at 742!**_ _" Kar looked back at the wagon. "_ _ **And I have a good feeling it'll be 745 real soon.**_ _"_

 _"Hey, we're not out of this cave yet," Marco said, picking up the last of his knives._

 _Kar grabbed his sword and then smiled giddily at him. "_ _ **So… can I get some dinner now?**_ _"_

 _"Yeah, sure. Eat up," Marco said, putting his blood-covered sword back into its sheath. He started walking back to the wagon, letting Kar extend long enough to eat the monster carcass while he walked._

 _Marco briefly looked at his wounds. He felt like an idiot for trying to do this whole thing Kar-less. He wouldn't even have a scratch on him had Kar been there this whole time. At the same time though, it was unwise to become too reliant on him. Marco had to rely on his own strength from time to time. He didn't know if Kar had a lifespan, or if he'd be a part of him forever. Marco wanted to operate where if all his comrades would perish, he could still survive._

 _By the time Marco got to the wagon, Kar had already finished eating and shrunk back down to his normal size. Marco took a step inside and Delineaha was tending to Yenol's arm._

 _"Ow! Honey, not so rough!" Yenol said. Delineaha rolled her eyes._

 _"Oh, please! You're lucky you're alive after that stupid stunt," she said, pulling his bandage tighter. "I already have to watch Graliah. I shouldn't have to make sure you don't wander off as well. You're not a child."_

 _Graliah ran over and stuck her tongue out at her father._

 _"Are you okay?" Marco asked. Everyone looked over at him and Delineaha dropped the bandages._

 _Oh, shit, right. Marco forgot about Kar._

 _"I can ex-"_

 _"Yenol, get up! We have to report him!" she said, taking a step back._

 _"To who? We're in an uninhabited cave system, Delineaha," Yenol said. He didn't even bother to stand up._

 _"I don't know, but I'm not putting our lives in the hands of that monster!"_

 _"Would you rather one of the other monsters in this cave guide us?" Yenol said._

 _"Whatever happened to letting the man do his job?"_

 _"Hey!" Graliah shouted amongst her parents bickering. "Why do you carry such a big hand puppet?"_

 _"He's not a puppet." Marco said._

 _"_ _ **Hello, little one. What's your name?**_ _" Kar said._

 _Delineaha grabbed her daughter and covered her ears. "Don't look at him, Honey. He wants to spread his evil throughout our family. His kind are contagious!"_

 _"That's just a rumor," Marco said._

 _"_ _ **Yeah. Also, I'm a good person now,**_ _" Kar said._

 _"Lies and tricks! Just look at how much that demon has deteriorated his body!" she said, gesturing at Marco's caved-in side._

 _"Ma'am, that's completely unrelated," Marco said. Graliah wriggled away from her mother's arms._

 _"My name's Graliah!" she said, holding her hand out to Kar. "What's yours?"_

 _"_ _ **I'm Kar'Margorach,**_ _" Kar said. He wrapped around her hand and shook it lightly._

 _"Kargororaf's a funny name," Graliah said, letting out a little giggle. Delineaha grabbed her again and pulled her away._

 _"Mother," Graliah said, trying to get out of her arms. "I think he's nice!"_

 _"He's not nice! He's a bad guy, honey!"_

 ** _"Not anymore-"_**

 _"If he's a bad guy, then why is he helping us?"_

 _"Because we know where one of his ex-wives is hiding, honey," Delineaha said to Graliah. Kar barely held back a laugh._

 _Marco chuckled. "Is that what you guys think this is?"_

 _"I mean, you seem to have a very specific taste in women," Yenol said._

 _"Don't change the subject," Delineaha said. "I'm sure once he has no use for us, his demon will eat us for supper."_

 _"Have you seen what Kar eats for his meals? The three of you wouldn't even make up an appetizer." Marco said, gesturing towards the window. Delineaha walked up and gasped as she looked outside. Right where Marco and Kar fought now stood about a dozen monster skeletons. They glistened a pale white, completely stripped of everything but the bone (bones gave Kar indigestion)._

 _Delineaha covered her mouth. "My god… what a monster."_

 _"Wouldn't you prefer to have a monster like that on your side?" Marco asked. He took a slow breath. "Listen. You can question our intentions all day, but we'll never make it through these caves unless we trust each other. It's your choice. Do you want to get moving, or do you wanna waste a day making no progress?"_

 _Delineaha didn't answer. She just stood there and kept looking at what Kar had done. What he could do to them._

 _Marco truly felt sorry for her. Delineaha was a simple farming woman, but a damn good one. When they first met, Marco could tell she took pride in their family's responsibility to provide crops to the local villages. People relied on her. In this cave though, she was powerless. No amount of farming could protect her from the monsters lurking inside. She was a liability._

 _"Fine. Go ahead and get the Osacontt ready. The sooner we get to Aofinajin the better," she said, turning her back to them. "And wipe that damn smile off your face, Yenol."_

 _Yenol did his best to hide the smile. "I don't know what you're talking about, dear."_

 _Marco smiled and went outside to check on Jerry the Fifth. While Osacontts were predators, they got spooked pretty easily by anything bigger than them. They had to make sure the hydra didn't traumatize it too much and that it could still do the rest of the journey._

 _Marco went up to the front of the wagon, expecting Jerry to be a mess, but instead he was frozen in place, a stone statue of the beast he usually was._

 _"Shit," Marco said. He quickly looked around the wagon, making sure nothing had snuck inside. Yenol and Delieaha looked out to give Marco curious stares, but didn't say anything. How long had he been protecting the wagon from those monsters? They had entered the cave in the morning, right? Marco turned to Kar._

 _"_ _ **I guess I'll leave you to it, then,**_ _" Kar said. He shrunk back into Marco's arm without waiting for a reply and Marco took a deep breath. Good. He needed both his hands for this._

 _Marco closed his eyes and put his hands into the correct position. "Gi protetsgi've bgirrsgi'er ngi gi kgilsgi'ld."_

 _A purple aura came up from the ground and engulfed the area around the wagon._

 _Marco felt the familiar tingle of the ritual completing and pulled his hands apart. He was in for a long night._

 _"What did you just do?" Delineaha shouted from the wagon window, looking at the now purple-tinted surroundings._

 _"It's just a protective barrier," Marco said. "We're camping out until morning."_

 _"But it's a cave! It's just as dark in the day as it is at night!"_

 _"A lot of things wake up at night here. We don't want to be their breakfast."_

 _"So that's why we used an Osacontt instead of a horse," Yenol said, stepping out of the wagon. "You're using it to tell time."_

 _"Exactly. The cave's magic messes with enchantments, so I couldn't exactly bring a watch."_

" **Marco,** " Kar thought to Marco.

 _"But how strong is it? Can it protect us from everything this cave throws at us?" asked Delineaha._

" **Marcoooo.** "

 _"Yes," Marco said. "This isn't a physical barrier. Everything inside here cannot be seen, smelt, heard, or touched by the things outside the barrier. Creatures will literally walk right through us."_

" **I know you can hear me, Marco.** "

 _"So… we're ghosts now, in a way?" asked Delineaha._

 _Yenol chuckled._

 _"What's so funny, Yenol?"_

 _"Heh, it's just, I've never heard you say something so… imaginative, dear. You're usually so down to Earth._

" **Don't you dare ignore-** "

 _"I mean, ghosts do exist," Marco interrupted._

 _"Excuse me?" Delineaha said._

" **Marco, I know you don't wanna look crazy, but-** "

 _"Yeah, they're a lot more common in monster-prone areas like caves and forests, so it's not unlikely that you've never seen one on your farm."_

 _Delineaha sighed. "Ugh, can we not talk about this, actually. Everything I joke about turns out to be real. Why don't I prepare dinner and you two start a campfire?"_

" **Marco, we need to talk.** "

 _"Actually, I'm gonna go take a leak really quick. I'll help you in a minute," Marco said._

 _Delineaha nodded and headed inside the wagon. Yenol excused himself to start a fire, and also to probably give Marco privacy._

 _Marco stared at his left hand._

 _"What's going on, Kar? What kind of trick is th-"_

" **Marco! Oh, thank you. I was starting to think I was going crazy…"**

 _"That's how I'm starting to feel. How are you talking to me like this?" Marco said._ "You didn't figure out how to talk to me this way until a couple years from now."

 _Marco shuddered_. _What was going on?_

 **"So, you feel it too?"**

 _Marco turned his hand in different directions to see if a tiny mouth had formed anywhere. But it was completely normal._

 _How was Kar communicating with him? Did he reach into Marco's head or something?_

 _"Why did I say that just now? Kar, is this one of those stupid tricks? I thought you were past that."_

 **"Was I, though? I went back to fucking with you once I got past that stupid phase."**

 _Marco expression went from confused to frustrated, although he wasn't sure if Kar could tell._

" **I mean, come on. 'I'm a good person now?' Just remembering I used to talk like that makes me want to throw up."**

 ** _"_** _Then why did you say it?"_

" **'Cause at that point, I thought if I just kept saying I was a good person, it would turn me into one,** " Kar said. " **I didn't want to be a monster anymore.** "

"But it worked," Marco said. "It may have been a stupid act, but you actually are a good person now. I saw the change myself."

Marco frowned. How long ago had this happened?

" **Marco, we're long past this.** "

Marco looked back at Graliah, who was handing a pile of wood to Yenol.

" **You remember what happens to them, right?** "

Marco didn't want to look at them anymore. The images of their long forgotten faces were too much. Guilt was starting to build up.

"Their village doesn't have any wizards. That's why we're going through this cave: to get to Aofinajin and find a wizard who can save Graliah's vision. We left this morning and made some progress, but we got sidetracked by a bunch of carnivorous monsters."

" **Keep going.** "

"But that's where we're at now. Nothing else has happened yet. But then tomorrow, we'll find out Delineaha got stung by a Velafar at some point. We'll be too far in the cave to go back, and Delineaha will insist she's fine. She'll pass out later that night and never wake up…"

Marco took a long pause.

"Yenol will decide to go the rest of the way through the cave, and he'll lie to Graliah, telling her that her mother had to go wait back at the farm- there was something she had forgotten to do. Graliah will wander off when no one's looking and get her head eaten off by a creature we'd never seen before."

" **The poor girl thought it was a rock.** "

"Yeah," Marco said. He looked one more time at where Graliah was messing up Yenol's attempts at making a fire. "Yenol asked to go back to the farm, but we were almost to the exit we only had a day more…"

" **And Yenol killed himself that night.** "

Graliah and Yenol froze in place, and the log Yenol was throwing into the fire floated in the air, like the world had just paused.

" **That didn't happen last time, did it?"** Kar said.

"No…" Marco said. He took a step towards the scene and Graliah and Yenol burned to ash.

" **Uh,"** Kar said. The caves surrounding them started burning away as well, headed straight for Marco.

Marco took a step back and felt his foot fall through nothingness.

" **Think of something else! Anything!** "

Marco closed his eyes.

 _"-but the acting was SO good! I really thought they were their characters!" Star said._

They were sitting on the couch, the end credits rolling for some movie. Marco looked between the screen and Star. Oh, right. He remembered this.

 _"What did you think about that ending?"_

Star and him had spent the whole day looking for a multidimensional DVD player to play a movie from some dimension where everything was made of pancakes, and after two frustrating hours of setup, they ended up watching Die Hard instead.

The only problem was that he hadn't seen Die Hard in over sixteen years…

No... wait. He remembered it now. It was all coming back.

"That last scene with the girl at gunpoint is so tense, no matter how many times I see it," Marco said.

 _"I know! I was like ' what's he gonna do?' and then he just pulled the gun out and pew pew pew! The bad guy was done!"_

What was Marco doing? Was he just going to play along with the flashback until something happened? Should he try to wake up?

Marco looked down at his hand. If Kar was there, he could at least give him some advice…

Oh, duh. He could just go to a flashback that had Kar in it. He just had to concentrate and-

 _"-kill you, you piece of shit!" the man swung his sword at Marco and he narrowly dodged it. Marco promptly stabbed him in the jugular._

Okay, this worked, he guessed.

Marco turned around and witnessed Kar piercing himself through someone's chest. They were surrounded on all sides by a dozen or so Pirates, but that number was quickly dwindling.

"Kar, I have a really weird question," Marco said.

" **Marco, thank god** ," Kar said. " **I'm glad you chose a good memory this time.** " Marco let himself relax a little. This was Kar, not his memory of him.

"You have a loose definition of 'good'," Marco said.

" **Listen, it's better than being barely conscious during your thrilling movie review.** "

"Fair point," Marco said. He parried a sword and then knocked it out of the assailant's hand. "So, uh, what's the plan?"

" **Uh, plan?** " Kar ripped the head off one of them.

"Yeah. We're hopping around in my memories aimlessly." Marco sliced open a knee. "What do you wanna do?"

" **If we wake up, it won't be long before we're right back in here, and I don't know if I can pop us out of the flashback like that again.** "

"Yeah, speaking of which, how did you even do that?" Marco asked. A pirate shot a bolt of lightning at them and Marco's hair got singed. Crap, a mage.

" **Yenol mentioned Vistebual. We didn't meet him until six or seven years later, but the name jogged my memory.** "

"We met Vistebual?" Marco asked, slicing through the mage's chest. "When?"

" **Remember the venus-flytrap-head guy in that village up in the Barrenous Mountains?** "

"Holy shit, that was Vistebual?"

" **He was Yenol's son who lived in Mirria during The Reckoning. We just never connected the dots. It's funny, if he had ever seen your back, he probably would've had a lot more to talk to you about."** Kar twisted an arm around and then flung one pirate into another.

"Kar, I'm so confused about all of this though. I've been reliving these memories ever since I went back to Earth."

" **Me too,** " Kar said, whipping a sword out of a pirates hand. " **I remembered us being back at Ennio.** "

"Yeah, same here," Marco said. He knocked someone in the head with the hilt of his sword.

Oh, hm. That was an idea.

"Do you think it might be because my teenage brain can't handle all these memories?"

 **"No, that isn't it. There's definitely magic affecting our body.** "

"You couldn't have mentioned that earlier?"

" **There wasn't exactly a good time to. Besides, at any given moment, you usually have three to five curses on you at once,** " Kar said. He slammed himself into someone and knocked them off the ship. " **If anything, it was odd that it was the only magic attached to you** . **"**

Marco sliced open someone's neck and frowned. When had he picked up this stupid flashback curse? How long had he had it before he finished the quest? It could have just been activated by his sleep, and in that case he had a week and a half time period (most of which had been in the Afflicted Forest, no less) in which he could have picked the thing up.

Marco flung around and blocked an attack from behind. Huh. He hadn't even seen that guy coming. It was like his body was automatically moving. Actually, it was like the flashback was playing out whether he was actively participating or not. Although this fight was years ago, it didn't feel like it was happening any different in the flashback. They were well on their way to slaughtering everyone here.

"Kar, I want to try something. Do you trust me?"

" **More or less,** " Kar mumbled, his mouth biting through some guy's ribcage.

"Stop fighting," Marco said. He eyed a gruff bearded man, who he was sure had led the pillage earlier that day, and held up his hands. "We surrender."

The man took all of a second to consider it and then stabbed Marco in the chest.

The sword started to burn away and Marco sighed in relief. Soon enough, the rest of the scene started burning away as well, and Marco closed his eyes and thought of somewhere else.

 _They were standing outside a tent, staring up at the stars as the cold desert surrounded them._

"I'm glad I didn't get us killed," Marco said to Kar.

" **Well, we don't exactly know what's happening out in the real world. You could've just fucked yourself over real bad.** "

Marco shrugged. "Well, I wanted to see if I'd just wake up from being killed. It seems if we go too off course, we get kicked out of the flashback."

" **What's the matter? Did you want to go back and redo all the mistakes you made, even if it's in the boundaries of a dream?** "

"Maybe."

Kar turned to look at the expansive view and stretched himself. " **Well I guess you picked a good spot in time to let us think straight. Not much to screw up here when it's just you and me.** "

"Yeah," Marco said. "Our adventures were filled with so many life and death situations, I kind of forgot there were moments where we just sat down and relaxed."

" **So what are we going to do?** " Kar asked. " **If we're still able to wake up, do you think there's a trigger for it?** "

"I don't know," Marco said, looking at his chest. While he wasn't able to pinpoint exactly when this moment had taken place, the presence of Kar and Marco's missing chunks of body indicated it was some time after Mirria.

Wait. That was it! Marco took his jacket off.

" **Uh, what're you doing?** " Kar asked.

"Using my back as a map. Quick, what are some of the names you see on there?"

" **Um, Canikea?** "

Marco rolled his eyes. "A recent one, jackass. Look for ones that look red."

" **Ok, it looks like Renier and Phanaline are the newest.** "

Marco nodded. "Okay, so we're a little after the Arson of Glania." Marco looked closer at his fingers. There seemed to be some traces of ash under his fingernails. "Does this desert look familiar at all?"

" **Marco, it's a desert, we've been through dozens of them.** "

"Good point." Marco said, kicking the dirt. He supposed it didn't matter _when_ they were, since they most likely wouldn't be there for too long. Regardless, Marco took a look inside the tent the two had apparently set up. Or perhaps it was abandoned? Either scenario seemed likely.

Marco's heart stopped when he saw who was inside.

Kar chuckled. " **Ha! Now I know what this is!** "

Marco rushed out of the tent and tried to gain as much distance as possible. Hopefully Kar didn't wake her up. That Heckapoo was not happy about having her nap disturbed the first time. He eventually stopped to catch his breath.

" **Dodged a bullet there,** " Kar said.

Marco laughed. "How long had we been chasing her?"

" **A week or so, if I'm remembering right.** "

Marco turned around and looked back at the tent. Holy shit, had he really ran that far away in such a short time?

Marco took a moment to look down at his body. He missed this. The strength, the speed. He felt his side, where his skin caved in to show his missing organs. As odd as it was to admit, he felt like he was back to his normal self.

This was how he was supposed to be. He wasn't some hormone-ridden teenager hopelessly chasing after crushes and rushing to get homework done. He was a warrior. He was a champion. He was a hero.

He was going to wake up again and be put right back into a wimpy kid body.

" **I miss it too,** " Kar said. " **But we can't keep wishing to go back.** "

"Hey Kar. Do you think… waking up is out of the question?"

" **What are you talking about?** "

"I mean, what if the reason we're not waking up is _because_ we saw through it. What if we're in this forever?

" **Would you prefer it that way?** "

Marco didn't answer Kar, but it wasn't like he could hide anything from him.

" **Aren't you worried about your little girlfriends back on Earth, who are probably freaking out over your unconscious body right now?** "

"I mean, I am, but-"

" **Then let's figure this out. Where do you think we got this curse thing from?** "

"I'm not sure. But it had to have been from this dimension." Marco was sure of that, at least.

" **Fine** " Kar said. " **Let's retrace our steps then.** "

Marco nodded. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. He began think of the black air and cracked trees of the Afflicted Forrest.


	17. Chapter 17: Star and Jackie

There were a few times in the last year or so where Star considered she may have been cursed with bad luck:

Star was the first ever Mewman Princess to get kicked out of the castle by her own parents, for fear that her recklessness with the Royal Wand could destroy their kingdom. As a result, she was sent to a dimension completely devoid of magic (aside from an invisible goat here and there) to complete her training, where she could be an embarrassment somewhere else.

Four months in, Star would give in to a monster group's terroristic threats by casting the Whispering Spell, a Fail-Safe that destroyed the wand to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. Despite the wand's miraculous survival, it became permanently tainted, and lost much of it's power.

Eight months in, Star would lose her family's precious Book of Spells, which documented every single spell mastered by it's previous owners. She would also lose Glossaryck, the entity that came with the book. Glossaryck was not only the book's Guide, but also acted as the trainer to every future Queen of Mewni. After a failed rescue attempt, Star was now left without a mentor.

Nine months in, Star's best friend, Marco Diaz, was falsely accused of stealing dimensional scissors that Star had acquired months before. The item was confiscated by Heckapoo, forger of all scissors. In order to earn another pair for Star, Marco underwent a hellish life-or-death quest in another dimension, that tested him to his physical and mental limits. After sixteen years, Marco succeeded, and even regained his lost youth, but still has the traumas associated with his quest, and can no longer function in his home dimension.

Yesterday, feeling responsible for Marco's encounter with Heckapoo, Star wanted to help Marco anyway she could. She eventually improvised a spell that she cast on him while he was still unconscious at the hospital.

It was because of this spell that Marco was now lying with his face against the floor.

"Marco! What the hell!" Jackie said, bending down to the floor beside him.

The fall would probably leave a bruise on his forehead. At least he wasn't awake to feel it.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" Jackie said.

No response. Of course, Star already knew that would be the case.

Jackie turned Marco around so that he was now resting on her lap. It turned out his smelly hospital dress had cushioned the impact a little. It was even good enough for Jackie to use as a makeshift pillow. After carefully placing the clothing between his head and her thighs, she grabbed Marco's hand to check his pulse.

"Um, Star? A little help please," Jackie said impatiently.

Star snapped out of her trance. "Oh! Right!"

She reached into her pocket and grabbed Marco's scissors, swiftly creating a portal in the air.

"Quick, let's bring him in," Star said. She knelled and grabbed Marco's legs, prompting Jackie to hold him by the arms.

"Star, no offense, but it kind of looks like we're kidnapping him."

Star look around and noticed several patients staring at them. One was a boy their age who looked kind of jealous of Marco's situation. The other was an older woman who seemed more concerned about the giant hole torn into the fabric of space. There was also nurse, who'd already ran away in the opposite direction. It dawned on Star just how suspicious they looked, but it didn't matter.

"Who cares. We need to get him out of here," Star said, stepping towards the portal. Jackie had a look of confusion until she finally seemed to get it.

"Ok, this way we won't have to drag him all around the hospital. Good thinking, Star!"

Star nodded and the two brought Marco in. Once they went all the way through the portal, they were standing in Star's room. Going from the dull, sterile hospital to Star's bright and colorful bedroom in an instant seemed to disorient Jackie a little.

"Star, this isn't the hospital," Jackie said. Ok, so maybe she wasn't disoriented, just confused. Star had trouble reading people sometimes.

"Have you sat on those hospital beds, Jackie? They're super flat. At least here Marco will be comfortable."

Jackie looked at Star's giant bed. Despite Star's room being 99.9% a mess, she at least knew how to make a comfy looking bed. Star's took Jackie's silence as a sign of agreement. They brought Marco over to the bed and placed him down gently. Star wiped her forehead.

"Ok, he should be fine for now."

"Fine?" Jackie said. "Star, he's completely out! We need to go back and get some help. Some extra pillows aren't gonna wake him up." Jackie sat down on the bed and checked his pulse again, like it would change suddenly or something.

"It's okay, Jackie. Marco _will_ be fine. We just have to wait a bit and he'll wake up. And besides, you'll thank me later for getting him out of there. If we hesitated even a little, Marco would've had to stay there and become a Science experiment!"

"What are you talking about? Is this about the 'thing' you guys were talking about before?" Jackie asked, turning to Star.

"Yeah, I guess," Star said. "Although there's actually quite a lot of 'things' going on with Marco right now. There's the whole not knowing how to read 'thing', the forgetting about all his friends 'thing', the Ritual 'thing', the throwing up 'thing'..."

"Wait, how do you know about him throwing up?" Jackie asked, watching as Star counted on her fingers. "You were the only one of us who _wasn't_ there when that happened."

Darn it! Star really needed to learn when to keep her mouth shut! Jackie was looking at her like she was being suspicious. Probably cause she was!

Star turned away from Jackie. She had to come up with a good excuse.

"Come on, Jackie! Did you really think I wouldn't recognize my bestie's vomit on that hospital dress? It was pretty obvious." Ah yes, the perfect excuse.

Jackie seemed to think so as well. Her face softened and she looked back at Marco worriedly. "Okay, sorry about that. But, it kind of seems like you guys are trying to hide something from me. I mean, here I am freaking out about Marco passing out, and you're just so calm, like you somehow know he's going to be fine."

"You just have to trust me on this. The same thing happened earlier in his room, remember?"

"I do, but is that really all you're gonna tell me?"

Star hesitated. It wasn't that she wanted to hide things from Jackie. It was more of Star not wanting to admit this whole thing was her fault.

"I...uh…" Star fiddled with her thumbs.

Jackie sighed. "Whatever. As long as you're certain Marco's okay, I guess that's all that matters."

The two girls stayed quiet for a moment. Each of them kept their eyes on Marco, who was silently breathing.

"I get why you guys are hiding this stuff from me, you know. I get it. Marco doesn't want me to worry about him, and that's super sweet." Jackie placed her hand atop Marco's. "And I also get that magic and other dimensions are more of your field, so obviously he'd rely on you more with that stuff. But, am I really that useless to him?"

"What? Jackie, you aren't useless!"

Jackie kept looking down at Marco, gently rubbing his hand. "It's just, when we were at the sleepover, I could tell something was up immediately." She finally looked back up and met eyes with Star. "Not just because Marco's literally the worst liar ever, but because I could even tell you and the others were in on it. It just seemed unfair that I was the last person to learn about those sixteen years. And I'm his girlfriend for crying out loud. Or at least, I thought I was..."

Star clenched her scissors. "You're not mad at Marco for dating that girl, are you?"

Jackie looked at the ground. "No, not really. I mean, Marco and I never became official or anything. We only went on two dates. If anything, I'm more mad at myself."

"What's there to be mad at?" Star asked.

Jackie stood up and started pacing. "It's just… when Marco was describing Allion to us, how she was this awesome rogue who helped support Marco through all those battles and terrifying experiences, how she helped him learn the ins and outs of that dimension, I realized that's the same kind of person I want to be to him. I want to help Marco so badly. I want to be a shoulder for him to cry on. I want to teach him how to be a normal teenager again. I want to be his Allion on Earth."

Star gleamed at Jackie. "Jackie! That's so sweet!"

"Uh, thanks." Jackie blushed a little. "But I'm afraid he thinks I don't have what it takes to help him. After all, I'm just some normal Earth girl. Why would he want to burden me with what he's been through. I don't think I can keep being his friend if all he does is keep secrets from me. It's not even about dating him. I'd understand if that'd be too weird for him. I just want to have the same amount of trust you have in each other."

Jackie started tearing up. She moved away from Star and faced a wall. Star got it. Everyone wanted to help Marco in some way. But since that incident with Janna, Marco probably didn't want to open up to anyone besides Star about what he'd done in Heckapoo's dimension. Not to mention things like Monster Arm making things even more complicated.

But that's okay. Star would do the opening up for him!

"Hey Jackie," Star said, with a face of determination. Jackie wiped her eyes before letting her face be visible. "Marco told me something very personal when you guys were outside his room. It was about something he did on his Scissors Quest. I can tell you what it was, if you want."

Jackie looked a little offended. "Sorry Star, but I'd rather have Marco tell me something like that himself. I don't want personal information given to me second-hand, especially without his consent."

"Jackie! Marco _isn't_ going to tell you himself. That's because he's afraid you can't handle it or that it'll change your opinion of him. He'd rather live a lie than take that risk. That's why I'm telling you instead, to see if you _can_ handle it, and so you know what you're getting yourself into. If it turns out you don't like what you hear, then maybe it _is_ for the best you're not involved." Star took a deep breath. "And if that happens, then… _I'll_ just have to become his new Allion."

It took a moment for Star to realize what she had just implied before blushing. She wished she worded that differently. Now Jackie was going to think-

Jackie giggled. Star froze in embarrassment.

"So… what? You're saying _you're_ gonna help Marco relearn Earth culture?"

"Um, Yes! That's definitely what I meant!"

"Star, you're like the Princess of Tourists when it comes to Earth. I remember it taking Marco _months_ before you got the hang of life here."

"What? That not true!"

"Come on, Star. I remember our first gym class together. You thought that the basketball hoops were our dimension's version of guillotines. You told me how excited you were to see your first public execution on Earth."

"Yeah ok," Star said nostalgically. "That's when Marco dragged me to the hallway and told me how I shouldn't joke like that. Then when I explained it too him, he just gave me this scared face and said how messed up and barbaric Mewni must be. And I was like 'Marco, barbarians don't hold executions,' and then he talked about how I was missing the point and we got into this huge argument about it."

Jackie laughed. "Wow, it seems like you were quite the handful for Marco when you first got here."

Star smiled. "Yeah. It took me a while to get used to things here. I always wanted to make things more interesting with magic, but Marco showed me how magic wasn't always the answer. Once I started doing normal Earth stuff with him, like going to the movies and watching sunsets, I started enjoying Earth more and more." Star sighed. "But I'm starting to think he may have forgotten how fun that was."

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.

"Well… when I went to get Marco from Heckapoo's dimension, at first he said he didn't want to go. He said he was fine with his new life as a cool dude going on awesome adventures. I had to convince him to come back with me."

"What? Are you serious?" Jackie shot a look towards Marco. "After all those terrible things that happened to him, you're telling me he didn't want to leave there? Or see any of us again?"

"I mean, I can't really blame him. We didn't know that he would turn back into a 14 year old. He was probably afraid of causing trouble for all of us. And maybe deep down he knew he'd have a hard time readjusting to Earth-life. He probably thought Earth wasn't worth the trouble."

Jackie put her hand on Star's shoulder. "Well, in that case it's up to all of us to show him what he's missing out on."

Star smiled. "Yeah! You can teach him how to be a teenager again, and I can help him learn English!"

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you sure you're up for that, Star?"

"Of course! I made a promise to him." Star ran over to Marco.

Jackie smiled. She walked over to a chair and sat down on it.

"Hey, Star?"

"Yeah, Jackie?"

"I think… I do want to know what Marco told you. But only if you're confident that he wouldn't tell me himself."

Star didn't expect Jackie to change her mind so soon. "Are you sure? It's… pretty heavy. It doesn't have to be right now."

Jackie looked over at Marco. "I think that I really need to know, for everyone's sake."

Star nodded. She materialized a pink chair with her wand and sat across from Jackie.

There was no easy way to deliver this information, and Star didn't want to waste time hyping it up or anything. She wanted to get straight to the point.

"Marco's killed people."

The room became still. Jackie stared at Star. For a second, Star wasn't sure if she even heard her, but there was this certain look in Jackie's eyes that told another story.

Jackie glanced over at Marco and Star couldn't tell what was going through her head. Was she just trying to process it? Was she going to freak out? Would she tell Marco's parents? Would she-

"Ok," Jackie said, not looking away from Marco. She took a long breath. "Ok, yeah."

Star got up from her chair to approach Jackie. "Are you… sure?"

Jackie turned to Star again and had a moment of hesitation, but stopped herself before it took over. "Yeah. I mean, he had to have been pushed to the limit to do it, right?"

Star didn't respond.

"And he said he'd been in wars. I guess I shouldn't have really expected otherwise."

Star bit her lip.

"What did you think when he told you, Star?" Jackie asked.

"Oh, well, uh." Star scratched at her arm. "I wasn't that shocked, really. I mean, I was definitely shocked to hear Marco _admitting_ it, but I already kind of suspected it. I saw his battle scars and bloodied clothes, and it was kind of just putting two and two together."

"You said that adult Marco looked scary to you."

"I did," Star said. "But despite that, when he saw me for the first time, after sixteen years, it was like he hadn't changed. He was so excited that he hugged me and started blabbering about all the cool things he had done. He still had his hoodie too. So even if he did do those things, I don't think he ever lost sight of himself."

"Still though, the fact that he killed people is probably eating away at him, don't you think?" Jackie said.

Star paused for a second. "Maybe, but he probably knew what the alternatives were had he chose _not_ to kill anyone."

Jackie frowned. She didn't seem to get what Star was saying. Star took a deep breath.

"Ok, so, I've never told this story to anyone before, but when I was about three years old, I was kidnapped."

Jackie's eyes widened. "Oh my god, Star. I'm so sorry. That must have been traumatizing."

Star shrugged it off. "Anyway, a group of monsters snatched me when I was playing outside in the garden. They took me away and locked me inside a cave with no food or water. They said if my mom didn't give in to their demands, I wouldn't live to see the next day."

Jackie covered her mouth. "That's so cruel…"

"Eh, it's pretty standard politics on Mewni."

"Star, that's not funny! You literally could've died!"

"Ok, you're right, I was terrified. But after about an hour I heard screaming coming from outside. I had no idea what was going on, but then I heard footsteps heading towards me, and it was my parents. They had come to rescue me."

"So, your mom and dad decided to tackle a small army of monsters on their own.? Don't they have soldiers for that kind of thing?"

"Well, yeah, but I guess the fact that they kidnapped _me_ made it personal. Royalty has been known to do strictly emotional gestures like that." Star stopped to recall what happened next. "So as we're leaving the cave together, I see all the monsters on the floor. A lot of them had weapons sticking out of them and some were getting their limbs chewed on by Warnicorns. There was blood everywhere and I asked why none of them were moving anymore."

Jackie gulped. "Oh man."

"And my mom said something along the lines of," Star cleared her throat and attempted to impersonate her mother's voice, "'Star, when you're old enough to understand, you may resent us for what we did today, and find it excessive. But just know, that in this cruel universe, there are those who cannot be reasoned with. Whether they did this little stunt out of malice, ignorance, or desperation does not matter. Our number one concern was your safety, and as your parents, there is _nothing_ we won't do to protect you. When you become Queen one day, you will have to make difficult decisions as well, and learn to live with them.'"

"Oh," Jackie said, looking at the ground.

Star hoped that the crude impression of her mother didn't take away from the point she was trying to make.

"I think I understand now." Jackie said. "Marco was in this horrible dimension with a lot of terrible people in it. But there were also people worth protecting, like Allion. When things got really messy, and the ones Marco cared for were in danger… killing the terrible people was probably the best option. That's probably how he lives with himself. There was no better way."

Star breathed a sigh of relief.

"Still though, it's not fair!" Jackie got up from her chair. "Why was Marco the one who had to make those difficult decisions? What did he to do to deserve all this?"

"There is no reason behind it, Jackie. It's just how it happened. If anyone's to be blamed for this, it's probably me. I didn't know that my scissors belonged to Heckapoo. I never bothered to ask where they came from. _That's_ why Heckapoo confronted him. If I was there before the game started, I could've stopped all of it from happening. _I'm_ the one who's useless to Marco."

"Star, you're one of the best things to ever happen to Marco. You're not useless."

"But if Marco had never met me, if I had just been a better princess and never had to leave Mewni, none of this would have happened. He never would have meet Heckapoo and he could just live a normal life."

"Don't act like that, Star," Jackie said. " _You_ weren't the one who put Marco through this. It's that… thing's fault!"

Star frowned. "You mean Heckapoo?"

"Exactly! She's the psycho who put Marco through that messed up quest, right? Who does she think she is? She has to take responsibility for this. Can't you have your parents arrest her or something?"

"I can't," Star said. "She's a member of the Magic High Commission. Anyone associated with them are basically untouchable to any interdimensional authority. Plus Heckapoo actually works with my mom, so that would make things pretty awkward."

Jackie stared at Star. "The Magic-Whatnow?"

"So, the Magic High Commission are basically… scientists for magic? Their job is understanding everything about magic in the universe, while helping societies use magic to their benefit. Heckapoo is the only being who can forge scissors that can travel dimensions. If something were to ever happen to her, entire wars would be fought to collect the last remaining scissors in existence."

Jackie looked at Marco's scissors. She didn't realize just how important those things were. "There isn't any other way to make them?"

"Oh, there're plenty of bootleg ones out there. Some aren't even scissors. But they can break easily and are nowhere near as reliable as the 's why only those who truly deserve them are allowed to wield them."

"And by 'truly deserve them', you mean 'beat Heckapoo at her stupid game'." Jackie said.

"Yeah. Some of the strongest and most famous warriors in the multiverse started out as victors of Heckapoo's Scissors Quests. Some of the even go on to rule their own dimension. I've even heard rumors that Aurora Butterfly became the first Queen of Mewni because she got her own pair of scissors."

Jackie sat back down on her chair. This seemed to be too much information for her to handle.

She looked over at the unconscious Marco again.

"Ruling over an entire dimension, huh? I don't think Marco has any ambitions like that," Jackie said.

"I don't think so either," Star said.

Jackie crossed her arms. "This Heckapoo chick seems pretty important."

Star nodded. "Super important."

Jackie combed her fingers through her hair. "So I guess getting revenge on her is out of the question?"

"Jackie, it took Marco sixteen years to kick her butt," Star said. "And he even got super strong and stuff to do it. I don't think either of us could really stand a chance against her."

Jackie bit her lip and looked over at Marco. "So, then, what do we do?"

"We fix what she broke?" Star said with a shrug.

Jackie nodded. "Okay, so then how do we fix this?" she asked, gesturing to Marco. "Like, how are we going to wake him up? I know you said it'd be fine, but it's been over 10 minutes, and I'm seriously starting to get worried." Star looked at her Rainbow Clock. It was 12:57.

Jackie was right. Marco had been out far longer than Star thought he'd be. It was possible that each episode was going to take longer and longer to resolve. If they were going to fix this, Jackie had to be just as informed as Star was.

Which meant Star had to come clean.

After a long breath, Star looked Jackie in the eyes. "Okay, so, I think I'm the reason why Marco's been passing out, but I'm not sure how I can fix it."

"What?"

"It was while Marco was still unconscious from fighting the Mask Tag Demon. I was so worried that I snuck into his room before everyone else yesterday morning. I felt so sorry for him, cause I knew as soon as he woke up, he'd be forced to go to school and go back to feeling awful about not being able to read and forgetting everyone."

Jackie listened intently.

"So, before anyone else could get here, I cast a spell on Marco. A spell that I made up on my own. I wanted to see if my wand could bring back his memories somehow, so I shouted 'Restorino Memoritos' and zapped Marco."

"Wait, so your magic can bring back memories?"

Star scratched the back of her head. "Well, I didn't know for sure, but-"

"That's amazing!" Jackie said. "If that's the case, then maybe he can relearn English that way!"

That's what Star originally intended. "Yeah, but after I cast the spell on him and, you know, surrounded him in it's magical green glow, nothing happened. He didn't even wake up. I was really bummed out. When you guys came in later, I decided not to say anything about it, since I thought the spell didn't work."

Jackie didn't comment. She was still waiting for the part that explained Marco's predicament.

"So later that night Tom texts me and says Marco woke up, so I rush over there to see if anything was different about him. It was late though, so I didn't stay that long, but when I heard he could start reading a Love Sentence magazine, I became hopeful!

"Leave it to Love Sentence to bring back Extinguished Hope."

"Then we come to today, where Marco first started passing out. When I was alone with him, he told me that he had a flashback from the other dimension when he was unconscious."

"A flashback? Do you think-"

"Yeah! In a way, my spell must have worked! Just not the way I wanted it to. Instead of having the memories back upfront, he seems to be reliving them."

Jackie looked at the sleeping Marco again. "So he's having a flashback right now?"

"Yeah! I'm sure of it!"

"But… you _don't_ know how to wake him up."

Star brought her hands down. "Nope. Not a clue."

Jackie looked around Star's room, as if something around them would be the answer. "Can't you just... reverse the spell or something?"

Star shook her head. "It's not that simple. You can't just put 'un' at the beginning of a spell and hope it'll be reversed that way. Believe me, I've tried."

Jackie kept frantically looking around until she noticed Star's bookshelf. "Okay, don't you have some type of guide that can help-"

Jackie stopped herself as she remembered the answer to her own question.

"Oh, right. That little bird-person stole it."

Star rubbed her hands, still guilty over that night. "Yeah, no more spellbook. If we had it though, I'm sure there'd be a chapter on how to wake him up."

Jackie placed her fingers on her chin. "What if… you cast that same spell on yourself? It's a stretch, but maybe you would get a flashback of you reading the book?"

Star pointed at Marco. "But what if I end up just like him? I just don't trust my magic right now. It's been causing more bad than good these last few months.

Jackie kept thinking to herself, trying to come up with something Star hadn't considered yet.

Star glared at her wand. Her stupid only-has-half-of-it's-crystal wand. She had thought it had been fixed after getting that finger out of there, but the darn thing still wouldn't listen to her. She wished everyday that things had gone differently that night in Ludo's castle. If only she had taken Marco out of that cage sooner instead of messing around. Then she wouldn't have cast the whispering spell-

Hold on a second.

Star rushed past Jackie and opened her Secrets Closet. She looked at the floor.

It was still there. Toffee's gross, missing finger. Star picked it up to examine it. She half expected it to crumble to dust or vanish into thin air, but the lizard's finger was very much solid. It felt like the real deal. It also smelt like the real deal. Even though this finger came from a painting in her memories, Star was somehow able to bring it with her. Her wand was able to manifest it into existence.

Could that work with anything else in her memories?

She dropped the finger and returned to Jackie. "I think you just gave me a good idea."

Star was waving the wand in front of Jackie's face.

"Um, okay. All ears."

"So my wand contains all of my memories inside of it. Glossaryck brought me inside of it once and I was able to take a thing out of it with me. A thing! Even though it was just in my head!"

Jackie slowly processed what Star was saying. "So, you're saying if you go back in there, into the wand, you could get your spellbook from inside a memory?"

Star was a bit surprised how on the ball Jackie was. "Exactly! I think it might be crazy enough to work!"

Jackie smiled. "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

That's when Star remembered an important detail. "Wait…"

"What's wrong?" Jackie asked.

"I forgot that Glossaryck is the only one who can put me inside my wand. But Ludo has him too."

Jackie's face fell. "Really? That sucks."

Star paced across the room. "I'm sorry I got your hopes up. I should've known it wouldn't be that easy to fix everything."

"To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how 'going inside your wand' actually works anyway. What did Glossaryck do the first time you went there?"

"Uh, he kind of just clapped his hands, and before I knew it, we were there.. Oh wait!" Star clapped her hands. After a few second of anticipation, Star lowered her head in defeat. "Darnit."

"I'm not convinced he's the _only_ way to get inside your wand. Let's brainstorm. Do you think he just, like, shrunk you or something?" Jackie said.

"No no no, it's like this huge place with all my memories and all the places I've ever been in there. It's not in the shape of the wand or anything. It's probably just a pocket-dimension he can take me to."

Jackie's eyes widened. "A Pocket- _Dimension_ , huh?"

"Yeah, that's what I said."

"Star, if it's really is just another dimension, can't we use the scissors to get there?"

Star blinked. She had never considered that before. Was it possible? Glossaryck never said she could do it that way, but then again, Glossaryck barely told her anything. Star took Marco's scissors and concentrated on her wand. She opened the scissors and pushed them into the air, creating a portal.

The swirling vortex loomed over the two girls.

"Whelp, only one way to find out if this worked." Star stepped towards the portal.

"Wait," Jackie said.

"What's up?"

"Your wand's still in your hand. I'm no expert on magic, but isn't putting your wand inside your wand kind of... dangerous?"

"Oh! Good call, Jackie!" Star tossed her wand on the floor and giggled. "Who knows, you may have just prevented the universe from blowing up."

Jackie laughed nervously..

"All right, I'm going now." Star took another step before Jackie grabbed her arm.

"Maybe I should go with you. It's good to have another set of eyes to look, right?"

"I appreciate it, Jackie, but this place is actually pretty dangerous. I don't want anything to happen to you. Besides, one of us needs to look after Marco."

"It's dangerous in there? That makes me want to come with you even more." Jackie turned around. "And besides, Marco should be fine."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, now that I'm in the know with Marco, I want to help however I can."

Star smiled. She was happy knowing someone so cool liked Marco this much.

When this was all over she'd have to let her in on Marco's time Rituals and Monster Arm, who was now called Kar Mac 'n Cheese for some reason.

"Do you think we should leave a note for Marco? In case he wakes up?" Star asked.

"I mean, he can't read so…"

Star snapped her fingers. "Good point! Let's just try not spend too much time there."

Star held on to Jackie's hand as the two stepped through the portal together.

Waiting for them on the other side was Star's room.

"So I guess it didn't work then?" Jackie asked.

Star looked at the floor and her wand was gone. Also the rainbow clock now said 12:44.

Jackie rushed to the empty bed.

"Oh my God. Where did Marco go?"

The bed looked like it hadn't even been used.

And, of course, it really hadn't been used yet.

"Jackie, let's go to the hallway." Star grabbed Jackie's arm and dragged her out of the bedroom. Star left the door open just a crack so she could peek inside. Jackie waited impatiently for an explanation.

"What's happening? Where did Marco go?"

Star gestured for Jackie to come look through the crack in the door. Jackie played along, but they were just staring into an empty room.

A portal opened in the middle of the room, and out came Star and Jackie carrying an unconscious marco.

"Oh my God," Jackie said.

Star smiled. "It worked."

"Star, this isn't the hospital," the other Jackie said.

"Have you sat on those hospital beds, Jackie? They're super flat. At least here Marco will be comfortable," the other Star said.

Star grabbed Jackie as she starting running through the hallway. Jackie struggled to keep up with her speed.

"So, we're actually inside of your memories?"

"Yup," Star said. "Now come on! Let's go find that book!"


	18. Chapter 18: Mindscape

Star tied the rope tight against Jackie's wrist. Where the rope had come from, Jackie could only guess.

"Okay, this should keep us together," Star said. She tugged at the other end to make sure it was tightly wound around her wrist as well. "Last time I was in here, I got separated from Glossaryck, and that was _not_ fun."

The rope was already starting to rub weird at Jackie's wrist, but the last thing she wanted was to do was complain and look like she wasn't tough enough for Star's crazy adventures.

They were inside the Diaz's kitchen. Even though this was apparently a memory, figuring out _when_ it was was pretty difficult. The kitchen and living room had decorations for an amalgam of holidays. There were shamrock coasters on the counter, a big Christmas tree in the living room, paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling, a Thanksgiving turkey burning in the oven (even though the oven wasn't on), and some Valentine's Day cards on the fireplace mantle. Plus, outside it was alternating between day and night every few seconds.

Star yanked the rope with her arm to get Jackie's attention.

"Alright, it's very important that you listen to me, because this place is about as wacky as it gets."

Jackie swiped away a birthday balloon that had wandered to her face. "Um… yeah, I noticed."

"So, always listen to me and and no one else. And I wouldn't recommend blinking that often. Or turning swiftly. This place runs on horror-movie logic."

What? "Horror-movie logic?"

"You know, like how in horror movies the character is looking at something, but then the character turns away for a second and when they look back, the thing they were looking at is something different."

Jackie rubbed her chin. "So like… when the hero has a stalker who is across the street, but then a bus passes by and they're suddenly gone?"

Star smiled wide. "Yeah! Like that! Oh man, Tom used to do that all the time. And that was while we were dating..."

"So how exactly does this apply to your memories?"

Star looked at the ground. Apparently answering that was a lot more difficult than it seemed. "So maybe this place doesn't have _any_ logic to it. It's not like you can make a map or anything. You're at the Diaz's house one minute and then you're somewhere completely different the next. We're kind of at the mercy of luck. Either we find my book in the next ten minutes or we don't."

Ten minutes? "Why the strict time limit?"

"Oh! At a certain point my newest memories are gonna be about this place, and when that happens, there will be an army of Stars that will be following my every move and will try to replace me. There might even be some Jackies with them too."

None of what Star said made any sense whatsoever. "Cool. Got it."

Star smiled. "Don't worry. If things get messy we can always use Marco's scissors to leave and try again later. Now let's go. Hopefully we'll run into my book!" Star lead the way to the Diaz's front door and Jackie stayed close behind her.

She could feel her heart racing a mile a minute. This feeling was crazy. She was still recovering from the fact that she had basically time traveled and saw herself from ten minutes earlier. And Star didn't bat an eye. This must have been par for the course with her and Marco.

She didn't realize how much she wanted this until now. Jackie was always curious about the exciting adventures those two were going on after school, and she had secretly hoped Marco would one day ask her to join them for a trip. Even Janna had been on a few with Star.

Ok, so, she _technically_ did go to that Strange museum dimension with the rest of her class once, and even though she almost died there, it still felt like a controlled environment. This place, however, was enough to get Star worried.

Now it was Jackie's turn to be useful. It didn't matter what this place threw at them. Jackie was gonna help Star retrieve the book and save Marco.

Jackie blinked.

Star was gone.

Jackie looked at her wrist.

The rope wasn't there. As if it had never existed.

She wasn't in the Diaz's house anymore, either.

She was inside an unfamiliar castle.

Not that she had ever been inside a castle to begin with, but...

Jackie sucked in a breath. Oh god.

What would Marco have done in a situation like this? He'd gone on hundreds of adventures with Star, so it was reasonable to assume they got separated every now and then.

Did he cry and scream? Maybe the first few times. He was only human after all.

But he _did_ know karate, so he wouldn't have been as screwed as Jackie was right now.

Wait, that thought actually wasn't helping.

Maybe she wouldn't need to defend herself. Just wander aimlessly until she eventually found Star, right? Seemed like a plan. And then when she didn't find Star in time, she'd just be stuck wandering alone forever.

Yeah, great plan. Maybe-

She took out her phone. No signal. Of course.

Okay, scratch that plan off the list.

Jackie rubbed her hand down her face. She was already beginning to sweat.

"Stay cool, Jackie. Stay cool," Jackie said.

Jackie took a few stabilizing breaths. It wouldn't help her to panic. She just had to stay calm and-

"Hold still honey." Who was that?

Jackie looked over and saw an enormously tall woman with pale blue hair fussing over an empty chair. It looked like she was wrapping something, but nothing was in her hands.

Curious, Jackie tried to get up closer.

"I'm sure. Now please stop squirming," the woman said, as if she were replying to someone. "River, come help me."

A blonde man came from behind Jackie and shoved her out of the way as he walked over to the empty chair.

"O-of course, Moon-Pie," the man who must have been "River" said. He was acting like Jackie didn't exist, even though he had just rudely pushed her.

Jackie took a step back. It was pretty creepy watching those people interact with an empty spot.

"And how's my little warrior after her first monster scuffle?" River asked the chair.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, the man began to beam with pride.

On one hand, Jackie knew this was some eerie memory dimension where things weren't supposed to make sense, but on the other hand, these people kind of seemed like parents whose daughter had died recently, and to cope, they imagined scenarios with her and played a really insane version of pretend.

"You fought ten goblins? Why, even I never tried to combat that many when I was your age!" River said. Jackie wondered if she should try to scoot around them and run out the door.

"That's because you used to be a pacifist, River," 'Moon-Pie' said. Maybe running was a bad idea. Like maybe they'd hear her and chase after her and kill her. Maybe even try to forcefully adopt her. Sneaking was a much better option.

River's face turned red. "No I wasn't! I was always out there looking for monsters to prove myself! It's just that I, well…"

"You were the runt of your litter?" Moon-Pie said, as if she'd heard it a million times before. Jackie took a slow and deliberate step towards the door.

"Well, even if I was a late bloomer, the Johansen blood always finds a way to awaken your wild side." Just a few more steps...

"Even if it seems to just happen overnight," Moon-Pie said, almost under her breath. Jackie slowly reached for the door handle and tried to turn it. It stopped short of actually turning enough to open it and Jackie sucked in a breath. Of course it was locked.

"Oh, hrm, yes," River said, "overnight…" He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. Jackie looked around the room desperately. There was a window on the far side from the door, but judging from the fact that this was a _castle_ , it would probably be a really far drop on the other side of it. Plus, the weird colors swirling around outside didn't really look comforting.

Moon-Pie stared at River. "What's wrong, River?" Jackie's eyes rested on a nightstand near where the two were talking. A beautifully ordained key lied atop it, and Jackie sure as hell hoped it was to the door.

"Nothing! I'm just… happy she can now defend herself now," River said. Jackie slowly walked back around them. The nightstand was right next to Moon-Pie. She would have to be careful.

"Well, she never would have _had_ to defend herself if she hadn't run away from her retainers and wandered into the Forest of Certain Death." Moon-Pie said, crossing her arms. Jackie took a few more steps to the nightstand and the eight-foot tall woman was blocking her path. Of course.

"What do you expect? She can't be cooped up in the castle all day, Dear. She needs to experience the world, if just for a little bit at a time." Jackie tried to scoot around Moon-Pie, but couldn't, not without interrupting their scene.

"I experienced the world plenty hunting down the rest of that monster army, and I'm not going to let her go through that same experience." Without so much as looking away from River, Moon-Pie grabbed the key off the desk and handed it to Jackie.

Jackie stared at her blankly. Were they aware she was watching them this whole time? Was she just some kid who was sneaking around and they were pretending not to see her?

"That's completely different," River said. They were still looking at each other. Jackie decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth and she walked back over to the door.

"Would you rather have her get kidnapped again? Every monster on Mewni hates the Butterfly family. They don't care if she's a child. They'd kill her just to make a statement. I couldn't live with myself if Star died because of something I did." Jackie paused with the key in the lock and looked back at them. Were these Star's parents?

River looked up to the giant woman. "I would rather have a daughter who isn't constantly afraid. A daughter who's determined, brave, confident, and doesn't let fear conquer her life! Just like her mother!" Now that Jackie was looking for it, she could see the resemblance. Star apparently got her dad's personality and her mom's cheek tattoos.

Moon-Pie let out a sigh and her expression softened. "You're right. Perhaps I am being too controlling."

"Um, Moon?" River said, looking at the empty chair.

"No, please, don't apologize, River. I think we should try and compromise. After all, she _will_ become Queen one day, so coddling her would only make the transition more difficult. It's just after what happened to Mother, I-"

"Star's gone," River said, pointing to the empty chair. Wait. Was she _supposed_ to be gone? Or was it like halfway through their argument that the invisible Star left? Jackie looked back at the door. Yeah, maybe she shouldn't think about it too much.

"How did she sneak away? She was literally right in front of us while we were talking. And we locked the door!" Jackie unlocked the door. She took one last look at Star's parents.

River shrugged. "Maybe we can learn a lesson from this?"

Moon groaned and took out a beautiful scepter from her dress. "To the Forest of Certain Death it is."

Jackie decided not to spend anymore time here and walked through the door. The sound of the castle was cut off. She was in Star's room again.

Jackie looked back behind her and the door was gone. It didn't really surprise her, but it was still weird.

And then there was a knocking sound and Jackie almost jumped out of her skin.

Then the sound of the door opening made her realize it wasn't the castle's door, it was the door to Star's room.

Jackie turned around and saw Marco in the doorway.

"Hey, what's up?" Marco said nervously, staring blankly at Jackie.

"Marco? Can you see me?" Jackie asked. She took a step closer to him.

"Well, it's been awhile since we went on an adventure, and since I finished my homework for the weekend, I figured we could do a quick one before dinner. Whaddya say?"

Nope, she was still invisible, even though everyone could apparently see an invisible Star just fine. It looked like Marco wanted to go to another dimension with her. It seemed like a daily routine with these two.

Jackie couldn't tell what Marco was told, but he looked shocked.

"Star, you're _always_ in the mood."

There was a silence where Star apparently said some sort of excuse.

"It doesn't have to be somewhere _that_ dangerous. Let's go to that dimension with the scientifically-inaccurate dinosaurs. We can try to glue feathers on them again. You loved doing that last time."

Jackie smiled. Of course Marco would be concerned about something like that in a fantasy dimension.

Marco turned away. "Well, it's just… we haven't really gone anywhere since that whole Toffee thing. I know you still haven't gotten your new wand back but…"

Toffee thing? What toffee thing? Jackie frowned. Wasn't toffee, like, some kind of candy?

Marco winced a little at whatever Star said. "Star, It'll take more than some glass box to scare me out of going anywhere with you."

Glass box?

"I'm fine!" he said, a little bit of sweat coming down his forehead. "I knew you were gonna save me in the end, and you did. Just like you always do. Besides, Ludo's gone, and I'm pretty sure all of his monsters blew up with his castle. So, if anything, our lives just became _less_ dangerous."

Jackie suddenly felt like she shouldn't be watching this. It was a private conversation between Marco and Star, or, well, half of a conversation, but still. She felt like she was hearing something she didn't have permission to hear.

After a long pause, Marco's shoulders fell. "Star, it was just a stupid argument about a sandwich. I didn't think it mattered so much to you…" Yeah, Jackie _really_ felt like she was intruding here. She took a few steps backwards and then promptly tripped and fell to the ground.

Jackie looked at the giant book that had tripped her and blinked. There were huge gems adorning the old-as-shit leather binding, and it had a bunch of loose pages sticking out at odd angles. It looked like something Jackie had seen in a halloween store once. This _had_ to be the spellbook Star and her had come for.

"Star, I'm sorry. Please don't cry. I just thought getting away from here would put you in a better mood."

Jackie grabbed the book and dragged it to the door. Holy crap it was heavy, but she managed to pull it across the room pretty quickly. She opened the door and pulled it through, and then the door shut automatically.

She found it a little funny that this was the second time she was rushing out of Star's room in the last few minutes or so.

The sound of a horn blaring ripped her out of her thoughts, and she turned around to see one of the streets in Echo Creek, except several of the buildings were on fire, and there were flying saucers patrolling the skies. The streets were empty, and Jackie felt like she just stepped into a dystopian future. When the hell had this happened?

The car horn caught her attention again, and she looked up at the top of the hill, where the sound had come from. An empty bicycle sped down, dodging obstacles and weaving through the street, which Jackie could only assume was being piloted by Star, and a car chased behind it. It was only a short moment that Jackie saw, but she could have sworn Marco was driving the car.

Well, judging by the way the place had worked thus far, Jackie figured she had to go through another door to get out of there. She gripped the book tightly and started dragging it across the road, to where her favorite chinese place was. It was the only place not on fire.

She briefly wondered if Star had ever eaten there. If not, she'd have to take her when all this was over. Marco, too. She was sure he hadn't had Chinese in a _long_ time.

As she dragged the book along at a snail's pace, she started to feel like someone was watching her. Paranoid, as anyone would be in a horror-y memory dimension, she quickly looked around and stopped when her eyes met with a blank stare.

Halfway down the road, some weird blue man in a yellow bath robe was floating with his legs crossed, staring directly at Jackie.

"What are you doing?" the thing asked.

Jackie looked behind herself. Was Star back from her bike adventure?

"Yes, you. The girl with the book."

Behind Jackie was no one, but that didn't mean that Star wasn't there. Whatever. Jackie just started dragging the book again. It wasn't too far till the door.

"Ignoring me, are you?"

Oh, so _now_ the memories were going to acknowledge her existence. Maybe because she was trying to steal the book? That probably meant dragging it around wasn't gonna get easier.

She put her back to her objective and pulled the book with as much strength as she could muster. The faster she got out of there, the better.

And then her back hit something and she whipped around to see the blue thing again.

"Aren't you the human girl? Jackie, was it?" It seemed this guy couldn't take a hint with Jackie's intentional silence.

"Sorry, but Star told me to only listen to her voice while I'm here, so could you please… back off?" It came out harsher than Jackie wanted, but she was starting to get bugged out by this place.

She just wanted to find Star and get out of here asap.

The blue thing didn't budge, though. It cleared its voice and spoke again.

"So, what exactly is going on?" it said, in Star's voice. Holy shit was that creepy.

Yeah, there was no way she was about to deal with this. She gripped the book and swung it into the window of the chinese restaurant, shattering the glass. She jumped through with the book and passed into a completely new environment.

Before Jackie hit the ground, though, a green aura surrounded her and stopped her in mid-air. The blue thing floated above her with the same aura coming from its hands. It sighed dramatically.

"I can help you, you know," it said. Jackie noticed the book floating beside her.

"Dude, what _are_ you?" Jackie asked, trying to struggle free of her magical bonds.

"I go by many names, but for now, you can call me Glossaryck," he said. "And I wouldn't struggle too much if I were you."

He pointed behind Jackie with a six-fingered hand, and she looked back to see an endless abyss with spikes at the bottom. Okay, so maybe not _endless_ , but-

"Why are you here?" Glossaryck asked. Great, she was being interrogated above death spikes.

"I came here with Star," Jackie said.

Glossaryck's eyes widened. "How? Why? I thought she found what she needed in here."

The strange magic was beginning to loosen its grip on her. Lying didn't seem like a good idea. "She wanted to see if she could pull her spellbook out of her memories. We came with those dimension scissors."

Glossaryck frowned and waved his hand. Jackie floated over and landed on a solid cloud.

She looked up and saw that the spellbook was still suspended in the air.

And then it fell.

Jackie quickly scrambled to catch it, but she was too slow. She could only watch as it fell down into the pit.

As she saw the book get impaled on the spikes below she realized she probably wasn't strong enough to catch it anyway.

Perfect. There went the whole reason they came there in the first place.

"What the hell's your problem?" Jackie asked.

"Whoops. I guess my hand slipped," Glossaryck said, gesturing with his hand as if grip strength had anything to do with levitation. Jackie kinda wondered why one of his hands had more fingers than the other, but she was honestly too pissed to care.

"Just stay away from me," Jackie said. She scrambled further onto the cloud and realized there were a bunch of people dancing in the center of it. Among the weird aliens, Jackie noticed a few people from her school. Ferguson and Alfonso were slow dancing, and Brittney was singing karaoke.

Jackie ran into the crowd to lose Glossaryck and looked around for anything someone could consider a door. Then, someone bumped straight into her and knocked her to the ground.

She got up again and was immediately elbowed by another person. It was like they didn't even know she was-

Oh, right. Only the creepy blue guy actually realized she was there.

Then, as she was about to clear the crowd, she was pulled up in the air again by the green aura. Gloosaryck's stoic expression greeted her.

"Just give up. There are no doors on this cloud. The only way out is through me."

Jackie wasn't sure if she believed him, but he already seemed to be pretty adamant about 'helping' her, so how could she refuse such a generous offer?

"Fine. You win. Take me to Star."

Glossaryck nodded, and with a swipe of his hand, everything inside the nightclub, except for the two of them, vanished. The clouds, the music, the night-lifers, all that remained was a black void.

"Very well."

"Okay, you're clearly not just some memory. What's your game?" Jackie said, deciding to be on the offensive now.

"What do you think I am?" Glossaryck said, calmly.

"I… don't know. I thought Glossaryck was Star's little friend that got kidnapped that one night, but I feel like you aren't him."

Despite Jackie just accusing the blue creature of being an imposter, Glossaryck had no reaction. His stern expression not changing since the two first meet. It was unnerving, to say the least.

"Are you like, this place's guardian?" Jackie asked.

Glossaryck put his hand on his chin. "Consider me a temporary guest. I used to come here often to pass the time, but lately I've been preoccupied with… someone else. Although I do like to check up on Star occasionally by observing her memories."

"You mean, you like to spy on her?"

For the first time, Glossaryck smiled at her. "Guilty as charged."

"Creep," Jackie said. That petty insult was the only thing she could think of. It wasn't like she was in a position to do anything beyond that. She was still at his mercy.

Glossaryck snickered. "It's funny you say that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jackie asked. She was getting really fed up with this vague bullcrap.

Glossaryck smiled, and he was gone.

And then she was in a graveyard. Jackie blinked. After a quick look around, she recognized where she was. This was Star and Janna's attempted Dead-Clown Seance. The same night that Star had lost the book. Jackie took a step and her foot hit something.

The spellbook was lying open on the ground at her feet.

Hell yeah!

Jackie leaned down and picked the book up, looking at the page it was on. The purple page was illuminated from a light behind her, and in big text, it said "The All Seeing Eye", with a depiction of a portal-looking thing on the front.

Cool!

Jackie closed the book and turned to go, only to see herself.

Ugh, she forgot how pudgy her face looked from that angle.

But wait, she hadn't shown up until the end of the battle...

And then she realized she was looking through a portal, just like the one in the spellbook, and that it was Jackie and Marco on their date.

What?

Jackie watched through the portal as she and Marco skateboarded together. She smiled. That was such a great night, you know, before the whole tragedy with Star. The Marco in the portal lost his balance a little and the other Jackie caught him. It kind of sucked that Marco didn't remember that at all.

It dawned on Jackie that may be her last date ever with him. Even if they got back into that type of relationship (which felt like wishful thinking), it wouldn't be with the same Marco. Marco wouldn't be awkwardly unsure of himself and fumbling to even hold hands. He wasn't the same dorky, cute kid anymore.

Now, he was this crazy, super-experienced warrior guy that just happened to be back in the body of his younger self. It was just so hard to take in sometimes.

Jackie sighed. She wondered if that dorky cute kid was still in there somewhere.

And then, the portal turned green, and so did her skateboard's wheel, and the other Jackie and Marco ate the ground. The portal disappeared and Jackie realized what had just happened.

The portal hadn't been just sitting there. It was being watched and manipulated through magic. There wasn't anyone in the graveyard with her either, or at least anyone she could _see_.

Jesus.

Star had been spying on them. She'd watched Jackie and Marco that whole night. And when they were finally having the perfect moment, she screwed up their date.

But why? Why would she do something like that? Unless-

Oh.

 _Oh._

Jackie covered her mouth in realization.

How could she have not seen it?

It all fit together at once in her head. It was like everything Star did had a new context.

Jackie was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of an animal scurrying by. Crap, was that one of those rats?

She pulled her hands down her face. She had to focus. She could freak out later, when her life wasn't in danger.

Okay, she had to find a door.

Book in hand, and also dragging on the ground, she turned around to search, only to be met with the interior to a bathroom.

Right, horror-movie logic. She spent so much time using doors, she forgot that it wasn't even a concrete rule.

This whole place was just so inconsistent. Like a poorly-written fanfiction.

She was staring at the stalls, and a little amount of light was coming from one of them.

"Stay in this bathroom," Glossaryck's voice said. Jackie jumped.

"Jesus, warn a girl!" Jackie said.

"I'm guiding Star to you. Don't leave."

"Got it," Jackie said, though anything from blinking to turning her head could probably send her elsewhere.

There was no response from Glossaryck, so Jackie just kind of stood there.

Then she heard a man's voice.

"You won't be some guinea pig, Marco," the man said. "If the studies ever go public, we can promise you'd be anonymous, and your safety will be our priority."

Jackie frowned. The voice was coming from the stall in front of her, but she was clearly in a girls bathroom.

Also, did he say Marco?

Then she heard Marco's mom's voice.

"Honey, is there anyway you can just show him it's magic?"

The sound was definitely all coming from the stall. Jackie couldn't hold back her curiosity. She opened the stall, careful not to step into it, and saw a portal similar to the one Star had used to spy on her.

Inside the portal were the images of Marco, that doctor guy, and Marco's parents. It was clear what had happened in here. Star spied on them once she got kicked out of the hospital room!

"Yeah," the Marco in the portal said. He seemed kind of unsure of himself, like he was holding something back.

"Then just do it, Marco," the image of Marco's dad said. "I don't want to have you taken away from us again."

Taken away? What exactly went down in that room?

Marco seemed to think it over, and then said, "Okay, I'll do it. You two might wanna keep your distance, though."

Do what? What were they even talking about?

Marco's parents took a few steps back and the doctor looked like he was about to watch something really unimpressive. Jackie knew better.

"Oh, let me guess," he said. "You're going to show me this 'curse'?"

"Yup," Marco said, before closing his eyes like he was meditating or something.

Jackie stared at the portal with rapt attention. What was this "curse" thing? Was Marco okay?

And then Marco gripped his hospital gown and tensed up and Jackie found herself tensing up just as much in anticipation.

And then his arm started to shift and crack and morph like a Cronenberg movie, only in real life. Jackie felt like she was going to throw up.

She covered her mouth to try to stop any bile, but kept her eyes on Marco. Was he okay? She couldn't even imagine what that felt like.

And then she saw the form settle into a purple, disgusting-

Wait, that thing looked familiar. Didn't Marco bring that to school once?

It was kind of relieving to see something from before his quest, actually. She had thought that the tentacle-arm thing was a prop the first time she saw it, but then again she hadn't really believed Star's magic was real until they had become friends.

But then she heard a demonic, echoing voice come from the portal.

 **"Ugh. What the fuck was that? I feel like I had to form through a meat grinder."**

Jackie searched the image for what had made the sound, and saw a mouth on the tentacle.

"You and me both," the Marco in the portal said.

Holy shit. The thing could talk.

Distantly, Jackie heard the conversation continue, but she was too focused on the weird monster-tentacle-thing.

Had it always been alive? Or did it, like, gain its own sentience after Marco had it for a decade and a half? Did it remember everything Marco did? Was there some weird mental link between them or something? Jackie had a million questions she wanted to ask Marco.

Except, Marco hadn't told Jackie any of this. Jackie found out through Star's memories. Star's memory of her spying on him, specifically.

Jackie frowned.

Since when did Star start spying on people? How many times had she spied on people?

Did Marco _actually_ tell her that he's killed people before, or was that just something she learned with this creeper spell?

Her knowing about Marco throwing up in the hallway made sense now too.

Jackie clenched her fists. They needed to have a talk.

Sighing, Jackie closed the stall door again. She didn't want to know what else Star saw.

The bathroom door slammed open and Star came through, panting. She closed the door behind her and locked it. Wait, weren't they in a public bathroom?

"This is not turning out like I planned," Star said to herself, slowly backing away from the door without taking her eyes off of it.

"Star?" Jackie said. Star jumped a foot into the air and spun around to face Jackie.

"Jackie!" she said. Then she narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Wait, are you the reeeaaal Jackie or…"

"Yeah, I'm the one you came into the wand with."

Apparently that was all the evidence Star needed, because she pulled Jackie into a tight hug. "I was looking for you everywhere! I'm so happy you're okay!"

Jackie rubbed Star's back. It was weird hugging someone who you were mad at, but it wasn't like she didn't appreciate Star's concern.

There was a loud bang and the door shook with an impact. Jackie pulled out of the hug. "What's that?"

"Oh, that's just the Starmy." Star said.

"The Starmy?"

"It's a nickname I came up with for the army of Stars that come out if we spend too much time here."

"So they're on the other side of that door?" Jackie asked.

"Yup."

"Maybe that's why I didn't see any Stars in your memories."

Star looked confused and there was a beat before she changed the subject. "By the way, did you see a small blue guy come through here?"

"You mean Glossaryck?" Jackie said.

"Yeah! When I was being chased, he sort of lead me here. I didn't want to get my hopes up, but I thought maybe-" Another bang against the door interrupted her. The door looked like it was going to come off its hinges soon, if it even had them to begin with.

"Do you still have Marco's scissors?" Jackie asked.

Star pulled them out of her pink bag. "Right here. We can try to find the book another time."

Jackie stepped to the side and held the top of the book like she was presenting her Science Fair project.

Star's jaw dropped. "Oh my gosh! Way to go Jackie!" She picked the book up like it didn't weigh a million pounds and hugged it exaggeratedly.

"I can't believe it! I finally got you back!" The banging got louder.

"Um, Star," Jackie said, staring at the door.

Star started looking through the book. "Hold on."

The thunderous thumping on the door wouldn't stop. Jackie put her back to it and pressed with all her weight. As far as she could tell, if they couldn't open the door, they couldn't get in, right? "Is this really the best time, Star?"

Star didn't give a response. She just kept looking through the book. It looked like she was saying something, but the banging overshadowed her voice. That constant, life-threatening banging from a bunch of Stars.

"You can find the spell later!" Jackie yelled over the noise.

That spying portal thing was still going on behind the stall, but Star hadn't even noticed it yet. The banging was probably drowning out the sound.

Then, about two inches away from where Jackie's face was, an arm crashed through the door. It was a Star's arm, or as Star would probably abbreviate it, a Starm. It began flailing around until it grabbed Jackie's shoulder.

"Oh my god. Star!" Jackie yelled. The arm was gripping her really tightly, and she could feel a bruise forming.

Star looked up and her eyes went wide. She pulled out the scissors and sliced open the air. Then, she grabbed Jackie's arm and pulled her away from the door and into the portal in one fluid motion.

Jackie felt her back hit the ground and then heard another thud against the floor, which she guessed was Star coming through after her.

As her vision adjusted, she noted the ridiculous ceiling that went way too high, and she knew exactly where she was.

Jackie was lying on the floor of Star's room. She pulled herself up with a chair and did a quick scope of her surroundings. Everything seemed to indicate this was the real deal. Star's wand was on the ground, Marco was still unconscious on the canopy bed, and the rainbow clock said 1:35, which sounded about right: The portal was still lingering in the air, but it began to shrink and eventually faded away completely. Star was right under where the portal had been. She looked just as exhausted as Jackie was.

That was Jackie's first adventure in another dimension, and she hoped it was her last. She couldn't understand how Marco was able to do that with Star everyday like that.

Jackie had always considered herself a daredevil and an adrenaline junkie, but this? This morning she thought grinding on a railing was considered badass, but now she felt like nothing.

At first she was happy to finally help Marco in a real way. This was the opportunity to prove herself, to show that she wasn't just another oblivious and weak human, but all that she proved was that she was never really in control. Glossaryck could have killed her had he been in the mood, and she would have never been able to find her way around without him. She also didn't like her chances of fending off the Starmy had it come to that.

But, it wasn't all so bad. Jackie _did_ manage to get the book, right? Of course it took two attempts but still they got what they came for. _That_ counted for something, at least. Now all they needed to do was find a 'wake up' spell and Marco would be good as new.

Jackie did a quick look around the room. Star was still laid across the floor, but the book was nowhere near her.

"Hey Star, where did you put the book?"

It was an innocent enough question. Jackie assumed Star may of had some sort of infinite pocket space in her bag like characters do in video games. Star's silence didn't say that though.

"I left it there."


	19. Chapter 19: Another Option

Star stared up at the ceiling, bracing herself for Jackie's reaction. She was certain Jackie would be angry. Of course it would be annoying to have some long convoluted adventure be all for nothing. She almost wouldn't be surprised if Jackie came up and hit her.

Jeez, Star was such an idiot. Why did she think that would work? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Jackie didn't say anything, and it bugged Star out a little. It was like the calm before a storm, before Jackie was going to blow up at her.

It wasn't like Jackie didn't have good reason, though. Star sent them on a life-threatening escapade on a hunch that didn't even work out. It was the sandwich thing all over again…

"I don't understand," Jackie said in a quiet voice, like she was afraid of waking Marco from his eternal flashback-sleep. "What happened back there?"

What? She wasn't mad? After all that and no prize? Or was she just confused? Did she think Star had left it there by accident?

"What's with the silent treatment all of a sudden? Are you okay, Star?"

Star's response got caught in her throat. Jackie didn't know that Star left it there on purpose, and Star didn't know how to break the news to her.

Maybe she could lie and tell her it was an accident. It would make Star seem a lot less like a moron, at least.

She heard Jackie get up and start walking toward her. Maybe here was where she'd start yelling?

But instead Jackie went up to her and reached down to grab something. What the-

The scissors! She wanted to try again!

Star grabbed Jackie's arm before she could grab the scissors. Jackie yelped and looked at Star like as if she was a ghost.

"Don't go back there. It's not worth it," Star said. She let go of Jackie's hand and slowly sat up.

"Star, we can't just leave it there," Jackie said. "If we go back real quick, we might be able to grab the book before any clones see us. We have to do this for Marco."

Star flinched. Of course she couldn't just pretend to have dropped it. She had to tell Jackie the truth, no matter how much she didn't want to. "That book is worthless," Star said. "It won't have anything that can help him. This whole thing was just a giant mistake, and I never should have brought you there in the first place. I'm sorry."

Jackie stared blankly at her, probably trying to process what Star had said. "But, you said that book could have-"

"That wasn't the real book, Jackie. It was just my memory of it," Star said. She technically wasn't lying, and she was really hoping Jackie would just let it stay at that. Jackie frowned.

"What difference does it make? A book's a book, right? I know the real one's important to your family history and all, but we can always try to get it back later." Wow, she sure was persistent.

"That's not what I mean."

Star crossed her arms. She knew that she was dancing around the topic, and that was annoying Jackie, but she couldn't bring herself to admit she messed up so bad.

She just wished Jackie would give up and switch the subject or something. No matter how hard she pressed, they were still back at square one. That wasn't about to change any time soon.

And then Jackie spoke again.

"Listen, Star. You shouldn't blame yourself for the danger I went through in there."

Who _should_ she blame? The wand?

"I was the one who wanted to go with you in the first place."

Only because Star opened her big mouth about it being dangerous to begin with.

"To be honest, I knew deep down that I would only be a burden."

Burden? Jackie wasn't there to see Star fumbling through her own memories. At least Jackie _found_ the book, even if it was useless in the end.

"I'm not like Marco. I wasn't ready for a full blown adventure, and I actually feel really crappy for forcing you to take me just so I could boost my ego."

"Um… okay?" Star said slowly. Jackie had nothing to be ashamed of. She wasn't the one who was failing to fix her own stupid mistakes using more and more reckless means.

"But the thing is, I _did_ risk my life in there."

All for nothing.

"And the entire time I was terrified!"

Who wouldn't be? Her first adventure in another dimension, and Star lost her right away.

"But I didn't complain, because this was for Marco, and I'm pretty sure you felt the same way. We're both in this together and, well, even if that whole thing was a waste, I feel like I deserve to know _why_ it was a waste. Please tell me what was wrong with that book."

Star sighed. There was no easy way out of this.

She took a deep breath.

"Alright, well, when you first showed me the book, I was so excited that I wanted to take a look inside, just to make sure it was real," Star said.

Jackie nodded. "Yeah, I remember. It was only five minutes ago. You were so distracted that I almost got my arm ripped off by a Star clone. Good times."

It felt like an arrow shot through Star's stomach.

Before, Jackie seemed to be taking things pretty well, but apparently even the chill that was Jackie couldn't hold in her frustration at Star's incompetence.

"Sorry about that," Star whispered.

"It's fine," Jackie lied. "So, you were looking through the book…?"

Star gripped the hem of her dress. "And that's when I noticed that all of the pages were blank. Like, nothing was on them."

"Really? _All_ the pages?" Jackie said. Apparently Star wasn't as good of a liar as she thought she was.

Star stammered. "Well, okay, not _all_ the pages were blank, but most of them were." She definitely recognized at least a few pages she had used on Marco once or twice.

Jackie looked unconvinced. "So, what? There were some pages that were intact and some that weren't?"

Star nodded.

"Who cares? At this point, I would have been happy with _anything_." Jackie gestured at the unconscious Marco. "In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of desperate here."

Star had to just say it. "The only pages in there were the ones I already read."

Jackie frowned, and Star could almost see all the pieces fitting together in her head. Eventually, she said, "So if you didn't even learn the spell in the first place-"

"Then it wouldn't be in the book," Star said. "And I _barely_ read that book, Jackie. In fact, every time I _did_ read it, it was either because I needed to fix something, or because Glossaryck forced me to take a lesson."

As the moment went by, it was probably becoming more clear to Jackie that the adventure in Star's wand was a waste of time. "I'm sure you learned _something_ that could help us? Maybe something you just forgot about?"

Star shook her head. "Glossaryck only taught me the basics, and everything else I went out of my way to learn were just offensive spells. I don't think a Warnicorn Stampede can wake up Marco."

"Yeah, probably not," Jackie said with a sigh.

Star buried her head into her knees. Things would have been different if she just looked at that book every once in awhile. She'd been too busy having fun on Earth to take her future role as Queen seriously.

When Glossaryck betrayed Star, she was confused and angry. He'd spent a thousand years training Mewman Princesses. Why would he stop like that all of a sudden?

It was Star. _She_ was the problem. Why should Glossaryck bother teaching magic to someone who didn't care?

Now Ludo was his student, and by now he was probably way better at magic than Star ever was.

Meanwhile, Star hadn't added a new entry to her 'Notebook of Spells' in weeks. She wasn't even sure where it was right now. Probably rotting under her bed or something. It was like every time she promised to study more or to make a new spell book, she immediately dropped out of it. Making promises was a lot easier than keeping them.

Jackie walked over and leaned down to get the scissors. Wait. She already knew it was pointless to go back there. Why even bother? Was she just planning on going to the hospital to let everyone know what they've been up to? Star could see the looks of disgust and disappointment already. Not only did she essentially kidnap Marco from the hospital, but now she'd have to come clean to everyone about her memory spell. And then Mr. and Mrs. Diaz would tell her parents...

 _Oh no_. Star didn't even consider how her mom would react to all this. Talking to her was already awkward enough after what happened to Glossaryck, but now she was going to flip. Once she found out, it'd be over. Star would never be allowed to leave the castle again, and when they eventually figured out how to bring Marco back, once he knew what Star did to him, would he even want to talk to her anymore?

A hand shook Star's shoulder, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She looked up and saw Jackie, with Marco's scissors in hand.

"Get up Star."

It was hard to get a read on Jackie's expression. Star wondered what she was thinking right now. The simple answer was that she was mad, but she seemed more determined than anything.

"Go grab your wand. We're getting the real book. Right now."

What?

"Jackie, it's not that simple. I have no idea where Ludo is. He could be hiding _anywhere_."

"Just use a spell to track him down."

Star stared blankly at her. "Did you miss the part where I said I don't have the book?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "You can't tell me you already forget how to use that spell."

Star didn't know what to tell her. 'That spell' could have meant anything.

Jackie sighed. "The 'All-Seeing Eye'?"

Star froze. A million questions popped up in her head. "How did you know about that?"

Glossaryck knew when she was trying to locate him, but she assumed that was because he was magic. Did Jackie know Star was watching her, too? What kind of cheap spying spell was this?

"I saw it when I had the book."

Oh. Makes sense. Perhaps letting someone roam through her memories wasn't the brightest idea.

"It was a spying spell, Star. I also saw that ominous purple cloud thing with Marco and I in it. And since you basically admitted that you know every spell I could see in there..." Despite the accusation, Jackie had a very controlled tone. Star wondered how much anger she was holding back right now.

"I-I can explain!"

"I don't care!" Jackie said, and then backtracked herself a bit. "Okay, well, I _do_ care, but that doesn't matter right now. What's important is that we can use that spell to find Ludo." Jackie was fumbling through her words.

"But-"

"We can talk about it later. If anything, had you not learned that spell, we wouldn't have this opportunity to get the book right now. So I guess we can take the good with the bad." Jackie forced a smile at Star. "It's okay. Don't worry about it."

No. It wasn't okay. Star could tell Jackie felt hurt.

She needed to explain herself. She just had to tell the truth.

"Jackie, I didn't mean to watch you two that night," Star said, being careful not to use the word 'spy'. "I was just worried about Marco."

Jackie stopped short of whatever she was going to say. "Huh?"

"I was worried about Marco because he wasn't answering my calls, and I wanted to make sure he was okay. I asked Glossaryck if he knew any way I could-"

"What were you worried about?" Jackie interrupted. "He was just on a date."

Star stopped her rambling. What _was_ she worried about that night? Marco just went to a school dance with Jackie, right?

And then Star remembered all the panic-attacks Marco went through whenever he attempted to talk to Jackie. She also saw sweat dripping down Marco's face right before the two left the house. That must have been it! He was a nervous wreck leading up to that date. Star just wanted to make sure her bestie was okay and not totally embarrassing himself.

"Well, you know how anxious Marco gets around you?"

"Oh, of course. It's freaking adorable," Jackie said. Star couldn't disagree there.

"Yeah. He'd been hyping up that date all day, but when it finally happened, I noticed he was going back into M.A.R.C.O. mode."

"Marco mode?"

" **M** ostly **A** fraid, **R** estless, **C** oncerned and **O** n-Edge."

Jackie gave out a quick laugh. She seemed to think Star's made-up acronym was a lot funnier than Marco ever did. Of course it probably didn't describe him that well anymore. Maybe **M** ature **A** dult **R** eally **C** an't **O** vercome-the-challenges-of-being-a teenager-again?

Star would have to work on that one later.

"Okay, so Marco's a cute bubble of anxiety, what's your point?"

"Well, I was worried about him! If anything went wrong that night, he would never live it down."

Jackie thought about it for a second. "I mean, if he wasn't answering his phone, you could have just called me instead."

Huh. Why didn't she think of that? There were actually a lot of other ways she could have went about this. She still had her own pair of dimensional scissors at that point. Why did Star resort to that spell? The only reasons she could think of were that she was a horrible friend and also a creep.

"I… um…" Star was at a loss for words.

"I get it, you were jealous. It's fine."

Star blinked. "What? Jealous? What do you mean?"

"Well, you like Marco too, don't you?"

"Of course I do. He's my best friend."

"That's not what I mean." Jackie looked over at Star's bed. "I mean, do you have a crush on him?"

Oh. That's what she was implying. Star couldn't really blame her for that assumption, but she had it all wrong. Star looked Jackie in the eyes.

"Listen, Jackie. Marco's one of the nicest, sweetest, most supportive guys in the universe, and I don't know what I'd do without him, but that doesn't mean I have a crush on him. First of all, he's my roommate, and secondly, _you're_ the one _he_ has a crush on. I've been on team Marco x Jackie since the beginning, so you don't have anything to worry about. Marco and I are great friends, but that's all we'll ever be."

Despite the confidence in Star's words, Jackie looked far from convinced. It dawned on her that Jackie may have been uneasy about this for awhile. Perhaps Star had been spending too much time with Marco recently. It was bad enough Marco never really talked to Jackie after that date besides a few quick phone calls, but then Marco went on this huge journey and forgot he had a relationship with her to begin with, and that was Star's fault as well.

Star's need to be the center of attention was always getting in the way. She couldn't leave Marco alone even on his dream date. And now Jackie felt left out because Star was the one Marco confided in.

Star looked at the saddened Jackie and the unconscious Marco and realized she had been making things difficult for everyone.

"So…" Jackie started. "Say you weren't Marco's roommate, and that he was never interested in me to begin with. Would you feel differently about him then?"

Jackie still thought she wanted to steal Marco from her!

"Because those seem like reasons why you _shouldn't_ like Marco, not reasons why you _don't_."

"I don't like Marco that way," Star said. "Besides, I already have a crush on someone. Oskar Greason is the guy I'm in love with." That should have been obvious to everyone by now.

"Oskar?" Jackie said. "Isn't that the kid who lives in his car and plays crappy music?"

Star smiled smugly. "Yeah, he and I are practically dating." Okay, that was a lie, but it would happen eventually! She just needed to work up the courage to talk to him first. Thinking that reminded her of Marco and Jackie's relationship for some reason.

Jackie blinked. "Star, Oskar dropped out of school months ago. No one's seen him since."

"Uh, what?"

Now that she was thinking about it, it had been awhile since Star actually saw Oskar. Had her crush really been missing for that long? And Star never even noticed?

There's no way. She was head over heels for Oskar! The perfect guy. He could play music, didn't care what his mom thought about him, and… other stuff!

"No one told me about it I guess." It was a lame excuse, but the only excuse Star could muster.

"It's okay if you like Marco, Star. There's nothing to be ashamed of," Jackie said.

Star wasn't sure why Jackie was hung up on the idea that she secretly loved Marco, which wasn't the case!

Okay, maybe _sometimes_ she would have random thoughts about him in a different way, but it was never anything she'd dwell on.

She just thought Marco was really cute, like a Teddy Bear.

"Um… Star?" Jackie broke Star out of her thinking.

"Huh?"

"Look, we don't have to talk about it. I just think the reason you spied on us that night is pretty obvious. But I guess I can buy into the idea that you were initially worried about him too. Same with why you used the spell in the hospital."

Oh, so Jackie knew about her using that spell in the hospital bathroom too. Star was actually glad she did. Those two instances were the only times she had used the spell on Marco, so it felt like Star had nothing else to hide from her.

"As long as you promise to never use that spell without us knowing again, I completely forgive you, okay?" Jackie gave another smile to Star. Unlike the last "reassuring smile', this one had actual confidence and conviction behind it. She was telling the truth.

Why was Jackie so lax about Star dabbling in forbidden dark magic? And also creepily spying on them.

And why did she think that spying on them automatically meant she had a crush on Marco?

And why on Earth would she be okay with her boyfriend's roommate having a crush on him! If something like this happened on Mewni, the two would be expected to settle this in a duel.

"Why are you so sure I like him?" Star asked.

Jackie didn't answer immediately.

It was like she was picking the perfect words to not upset Star.

"I guess it just makes sense to me." Really? That was her evidence?

"That's it?"

"Well..." Jackie scratched the back of her head. "It's just that, I obviously think Marco's the coolest, so to me, it makes sense someone who's living with him would think the same?"

Star lifted an eyebrow at Jackie.

"Well, isn't it true that you were going to be Marco's date to the dance before I asked him?"

"Yeah, as friends. Marco didn't want to go there by himself."

"I know, he told me that, and I didn't think much of it at first. But after I saw you using that spell, and started thinking about it, it seems like I took away a fun night away from you."

Star had to admit, she kind of regretted not going to the dance with Marco. Not only would the book not have been taken, but Marco was a super fun dancer.

While she was excited for the seance at first, it required too much set up and waiting for her liking. She never would have been bored with Marco.

"I didn't mind, Jackie. He wanted to be with you. Plus, I had that Dead Clown Seance with Janna, and that would have been way better than some boring dance."

Jackie nodded, but it was clear she didn't believe Star. "All I'm saying is, whatever the reason, you decided to use the spying spell, and you saw us. You're not sure why, but something about us being together bothered you, and you blew up my skateboard wheel."

Oh, right! Star forgot about that. But it wasn't her fault. Her wand had been acting up, like it always did. She didn't know how to explain that to Jackie though. It'd just seem like Star was making it up.

"But it's okay!" Jackie said quickly. "I just think you should be honest about it."

"Jackie, why are you trying so hard not to hate me right now?" Star asked. Jackie had every right to hate her. She was a terrible friend.

"Huh?" Jackie said, like she was genuinely confused by the idea of Star being awful. She was too good for this world.

"I spied on you Jackie. I did something terrible and you're acting like it isn't a big deal."

"I mean, I was mad at first, but I didn't want to bla-"

Star ignored her. "As a matter of fact, why is everyone pretending all of this isn't my fault?"

"Star, we've talked about this. None of this is your fault."

"Really, Jackie?" Star said, a little louder than she should have. "I'm the one who ruined your date. I'm the one who ruined Marco's life! I'm the one who kept bringing him on more and more dangerous adventures! I'm the one who just isn't learning at all, just switching victims from him to you! I'm the one whose scissors got Marco trapped in a hellish nightmare dimension for sixteen years! I'm the one who scrambled his brain up and put him in a memory coma! I'm the one who keeps on making more and more mistakes and messing everything up and-"

"Star!" Jackie yelled.

Star choked on her next word. She started hyperventilating.

"It's not your fault, Star," Jackie said, much quieter this time. "Marco's a person, too."

"I know he is, that's why-"

"Star, Marco can make his own decisions. Don't try to take the blame for everything he's done!"

But-

" _He_ was the one who went on adventures with you. He _wanted_ to. You never forced him!"

She had a point, but-

" _He_ was the one who chose to go on that quest."

Well, he would have never been given the choice-

"He was the one who killed people."

Well, if she had never made monster arm-

"And he was the one who was keeping everything a secret from me."

Well… um...

"He's made all his own decisions. You don't have to act like he's a kid. You're not his mom."

But Star wasn't acting like he was a kid! She was just trying to step up to the problems she caused! She needed to take responsibility and fix this!

If anything, _she_ was the one who'd been acting like a kid…

That's what she was. A kid with a magic wand.

...

Ugh.

Star rubbed her face.

Who was Star kidding, she was still just a kid. A dumb kid who was in over her head.

"You're right, Jackie. I know this isn't all my fault," Star said.

Even if she was from Mewni, Star still couldn't relate to the things Marco had done. She had never taken a life before. She couldn't even imagine sixteen whole years of crazy trauma. Heck, she couldn't imagine sixteen years of anything! What could she do? When Marco told her he'd killed people, how he killed Toza, all Star did was say 'I'm sorry' over and over again. How would that help him?

"I just felt so bad for Marco. All this guilt was piling up and I guess I just needed to let some of it out," Star said.

Star told Marco two days prior that she'd help him relearn English. A nice gesture, but could she really do it? Star wasn't exactly an A+ student. She wouldn't even know where to start. Would it just be another promise she couldn't keep?

"I really did think everyone secretly hated me for this, and you just didn't want to hurt my feelings. I'm sorry."

Her skills in magic were as lackluster as her academics. She almost failed Baby's test, and her memory spell affected Marco in the worst way possible. What did Dr. Singer say? Something about not being to fix every problem with a flick of her wand?

"I can't keep apologizing if it won't do anything, and I can't fix this on my own."

She needed to admit defeat. This was beyond her. She'd needed help from the beginning.

Star walked up to her mirror.

"Star?" Jackie said.

"Call Mom." Star said.


	20. Chapter 20: Join the Club

"Calling 'Mom" the mirror said, and Star immediately regretted her decision.

Ring...

Star held onto her dress. Wondering how she was going to explain all this to her mother. Maybe she was doing this too fast? She needed to hang up and call again when she was ready. Star wondered if Jackie could do a good impression of her mom for practice.

Ring...

Come to think of it, when was the last time Star called home with some good news? Not recently, that's for sure. The moment her mom realized Star was calling, she'd mentally prepare herself to be disappointed yet again. Perhaps it wouldn't even surprise her that this happened?

Ring...

Star took a quick glance at Jackie, who was beside Marco. She had her hand over Marco's head, probably to check his temperature. Argh! Star couldn't stand how cute they looked together!

Ring...

She was going to miss those two. After Star gets permanently grounded and forced back into Mewni, she wasn't sure when she'd get to see them again.

Although she did have the All-Seeing Eye spell if it came down to-

Star slapped herself. Literally. It really hurt and was loud enough to startle Jackie.

Ring...

Come on, can't they just get this over with already? Why prolong it any further? Star was already sweating. She tried to regulate her breathing, with little success.

Ring..:

Maybe she wouldn't even answer? Her mother was queen after all, a role that included many responsibilities, none of which involved being there for her daughter, apparently, but that wasn't really a surprise. Why else was Star dumped on Earth, right?

Ring...

The worst part was, even though Star was trying to be a better friend by doing this, what she wanted more than anything was for her not to answer. Deep down she would much prefer keeping this secret as long as possible, and Star hated herself for it.

She wished she could've fixed this on her own. She wanted to get the book back, save Marco, and somehow fix her wand. She wanted to make up for every mistake she had made this year, but nothing's been fixed and she was now in the embarrassing process of begging her mom to do it for her. So pathetic...

Click!

"Star!" King River said.

Oh thank the great and mighty stump it was just her dad!

Star bent down and took very heavy breaths. She was getting _way_ too stressed about this!

"What's wrong, Pumpkin? You're trembling."

She brought herself back up to compose herself. She had this. She was a graceful princess. Be the graceful princess.

Star crossed her arms and tilted her body to seem like she was leaning against something. She gave her father a rather smug expression.

"Sup, Pops?"

Jackie could be heard facepalming in the background.

Star's dad didn't seem to notice her sporadic changes in attitude. "I'm doing quite alright. In fact, your father performed a great service for his kingdom today!"

"Woooooooooooow, tell me all about it!" Hopefully that would buy Star more time…

"Well you see, there was a bit of a dispute going on by the royal courthouse. Benedict the Forgemaster and Margaret the Fishmonger were going through a rather ugly divorce. They were arguing over who gets to keep the family cow. A good King never likes to see his people upset, so I took it upon myself to take the cow home with me and make him my new advisor!"

As if on cue, a large bulky cow made it's way into frame. Star's dad seemed to be taking the time to domesticate the animal, by dressing it up in his spare clothes. Of course, the cow was too big to fit into Mewman clothing, so the whole outfit was just sort of spread across its back. It also barred the former advisor's headpiece...

"Here he is now!" Star's dad said, wrapping his arm around the beast's neck. "Quite the charmer, isn't he? Would you like to name him?"

Star rubbed her temples. She really wished Jackie hadn't witnessed that gross misuse of power.

"Dad! You can't be letting filthy animals roam around the castle like that! If Mom sees this, she is going to flip!"

The king looked around his bedroom and noticed muddy hoof-prints on the floor and knocked down lamps, all while his beard was being chewed on.

He smiled.

"There's nothing you should worry about, Dear. Your mother won't be coming back til tomorrow night. I'll have this place cleaned up in a jiffy, and by the time she _does_ return, our new friend here will have already blended in!"

Wait.

Mom wouldn't be back til tomorrow?

"Where is she right now?" Star asked. There were only two occasions where The Queen would leave Mewni. One was for diplomatic relations with other kingdoms, and the other occasion was-

"I'm afraid she's been summoned by the Magic High Commision on some urgent business," Her father said, scratching his head.

"Does that mean she's with Heckapoo right now?" Jackie asked, but Star turned around and shushed her.

Star turned back to her father. "Okay, but why is she going to be gone that long? I called because I _really_ need to talk to her."

"I'm not sure myself," Star's dad said. "She's been meeting with them for weeks now, but I think it might have something to do with you-know-who."

Was he talking about Glossaryck?

Was the Magic High Commision looking for him?

"They're looking for Glossaryck?" Star asked.

"I would assume so! They're not going to just let him wander around the multiverse unattended!"

"Can't you search with the royal guard, too? You know, to speed things up?"

"Oh Heaven's no! We need to keep this between us. If word got out that he was gone, the entire kingdom would be in total disarray. Angry mobs would be forming from all sides of the castle and your mother would have to answer to all of it!"

"I...see." Star frowned.

It didn't take long for Star's dad to realize his mistake. "Erm, perhaps I went a little too far there." He turned to the cow. "You could've stopped me at any time there, _Mr. Advisor_!"

Star didn't think it was that big of a deal that Glossaryck was gone. The way her parents acted, it didn't seem _too_ bad. Definitely not maximum-security-secret bad. Star could only imagine the pressure her mom was going through keeping it a secret from everyone, but it was only a matter of time before something Star did spilled the beans. Star was always making things difficult.

"Either way…," River started. "You don't have anything to worry about. Even without Glossaryck, they're more than capable of handling things on their own."

"Thanks Dad…" Star said halfheartedly.

"Star!"

Star zipped her head up. "What?"

Her father sighed. "Listen, I don't want you to think that any of this is your fault."

Yeah, okay. "But, Dad, I lost the book, and…"

"And you made a valiant effort to retrieve it!" her dad said. "You would have succeeded too, had Glossaryck chosen to go with you."

"He said he couldn't go with me because Ludo owned the book now..."

"You believed him? Glossaryck isn't a genie, Star, he's a _jerk_!"

"I always thought he was, like, tied to the book or something."

"He can still make his own choices. He's been doing that behind everyone's backs for generations. The book goes wherever he wants it to go."

Star frowned. Apparently her suspicions had been confirmed. Glossaryck really didn't want to be with her anymore. He prefered Ludo of all people-

"You don't have to pretend you understand him, Star. No one does. Not even your mother knows what to make of him."

Yeah, Glossaryck was never really the most open friend. Half the time he spoke in riddles, and the other half he spent being annoying.

"And if he doesn't want to be a part of your life anymore, then I say good riddance!"

He did have a point. Star couldn't control Glossaryck's decision of not coming with her. It's like what Jackie told her about the decisions Marco had made during his quest.

Even if she _had_ been a little nicer to Glossaryck and was a better student, he still may not have wanted to be rescued? She didn't know what Glossaryck's reasons were, but she couldn't let it consume her thoughts.

Star smiled.

Her father continued. "I know things look bleak right now, but what we want more than anything is for you to enjoy what's left of your school year. And if before then you want to continue where you left off in magic training, you'll always have your mother to teach you."

A wave of relief hit Star. The guilt she'd been holding on to didn't feel as heavy.

She realized that this was the most serious one-to-one conversation she'd ever had with her father. Even though he always acted more like a play-mate, he really did know how to step up and be an amazing parent!

"Thanks Dad!" Star said, much more enthusiastically this time. She gave a quick hug to the mirror. Then she turned her head and noticed Jackie giving a thumbs-up. Star was surrounded by the most supportive people in the universe, even if one of them was unconscious right now.

"No problem, my dear. Now then, you said you needed to talk to your mother?"

Oh. Right.

Now Star had to get to the part where she explained her mess-up.

"Um… yeah, about that…"

Star knew her mother was the only one who could save Marco, but if she wasn't even available…

"You know what, it can wait, Dad. Have Mom call me whenever she gets back." Star and Jackie would just have to wait. She couldn't interrupt official Magic High Commission business. That just wasn't classy.

"Oh, okay then. I'm glad it's nothing too urgent. I'll let her know tomorrow that you called. Now go and enjoy the rest of your week. King's orders." He smiled wide and pointed her.

Star supposed she could just try and get the book back from Ludo instead. If her mom was busy, it seemed like the best option.

She'd go by herself, though. As long as Jackie and Marco weren't involved it was okay. Obtuse adventures were okay as long as Star was the only one in danger, right?

"Right! Um, you too, Dad."

Would Marco be okay waiting for Star's mom? Of course he would! He wasn't dying or anything! They would just take him back to the hospital and take care of him there.

And maybe Marco was _enjoying_ his memory coma? Maybe he was remembering everything from Earth he forgot about. It could be awesome, actually. You know, or all those pleasant memories of his allies dying and other traumatic events from his quest that he's being forced to reexperience right now. All thanks to Star. No problem, Marco. You're welcome.

…

Star's finger hovered over the 'End Call' button.

She turned around to see Jackie, who looked disappointed.

Ugh. Star hated herself. She kept trying to convince herself that there was another way to do this right, but there wasn't.

No more distractions!

Stop thinking about yourself!

Do this for Marco!

"Wait, Dad," Star said.

Star's dad was a second short of ending the call. "Hmm?"

"I… need help. I need Mom's help really badly."

"Star, what's wrong?"

"I messed up. I messed up really bad and I tried to fix it on my own but I _can't_. And I'm sorry I've been nothing but trouble these last few months, but if you can bring her here I promise I'll never do anything stupid like this ever again."

"What did you do?"

"It's… Marco. I zapped him with untested magic and now he can't wake up."

"Did you try slapping him?"

"What? No! It's not that simple."

"I see…" Star's dad stroked his beard. "That sounds like a real problem."

"Can you get Mom to come here, please?"

"Well, I'd love to, but your mother took the royal scissors with her. I have no way of going there, and I can't contact her either."

Star turned away from the mirror and walked towards Jackie. She grabbed Marco's scissors.

"Star, what're you doing?" Jackie asked.

"Are you there?" her dad asked.

Star opened a portal and threw the scissors into the swirling vortex. Back on the mirror, she could see the same pair fly into the royal bedroom.

Star's father's royal reflexes kicked in, and he caught the scissors before they hit the ground. He took a long look at them and frowned.

"Where did you get these? They look nothing like the pair you had last time. Did you steal these?"

" No. They belong to Marco," Star said.

At first he looked confused, but then his expression changed completely. Star couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he looked like a mix of shock, upset, and even a little disturbed.

Star didn't have to explain anything else. He knew.

"I'll do my absolute best to get her," Star's dad said. "Expect the two of us in a couple of hours."

Before Star could thank him, the call ended.

Star rubbed her arm. Help was on the way.

"I'm proud of you, Star," Jackie said, getting up from her chair. "That took a lot of guts."

"Thanks," Star said. "But I don't I deserve _any_ credit. I mean, I should've went to my parents from the beginning. That whole adventure in the wand really was unnecessary. I was just being selfish. It was like fixing my own mistakes were more important than fixing Marco."

"Star, I think you were just being overly ambitious. The important thing is that you tried, you know? It's not like his life is in danger anyway. He's just taking a nap," Jackie said, "and we all know he really needed one."

"Um, about that," Star said.

"What is it?" Jackie asked.

"This is going to sound really stupid, and counterintuitive to this big lesson I just learned, but…" Star paused for a moment. "I want to try and wake Marco with my magic."

"Oh! I, uh…" Jackie said. She looked at the ground, probably trying to spare Star's feelings rather than tell her outright how awful of an idea that was.

"Okay. Nevermind then. Sorry I bought it up." Star frowned. "Maybe we should take him back to the hospital."

"I mean," Jackie said, "you heard your dad. They should only be a few hours. Just let your mom handle this."

"I know I should, but I'm worried about Marco. He's not just taking a nap, Jackie, he's reliving his own memories, and I don't think he's in control of which ones he can see."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know," Star said. "But a lot of bad things had happened to him in Heckapoo's dimension. Probably more bad than good. If there's even a small chance he's going through the bad stuff again, I want to get him out of there."

"No offense, but are you sure it's worth the risk of trying?" Jackie asked.

"The risk?"

"Okay, maybe that came out a bit harsh. I'm just playing Devil's Advocate here. You already said you're not a pro at magic, and you said your wand's been acting finicky. I don't think you should do this unless you're confident you can."

"Well, I'm not going to try to undo the Memory Restoration spell. I know I can't do that without help. I just want to, you know, wake him up. The Memory spell's magic would still be in Marco, but as long as I'm around, I can stop him from blacking out for too long."

"Hmm." Jackie thought about it.

Star didn't know if she was being selfish or not right now. On the one hand, she really did want to bring Marco back for his own sake.

But she also felt like she was just suggesting this because she really needed a win right now. After weeks of personal failures and close calls, she wanted to do something right for a change, and waiting around for her mom to be there in _maybe_ a few hours didn't really feel like she helped at all.

Star Took a deep breath.

"Do you trust me, Jackie?" Star asked.

"Oh, I trust you with this one-hundred-percent," Jackie said.

Wow. Ok. Star wasn't expecting that. "Really?"

"Star, I've seen you use your wand hundreds of times in cool and interesting ways. Who cares if you didn't study that book? What you lack in book smarts you make up for in resourcefulness. You've always been able to do things on your own. I know you can do this, and so would Marco. He would trust you."

Star smiled. "What happened to considering the risks?"

"I bought up the risks because I don't want you to feel like you _have_ to do this. You don't need that kind of pressure. Even if Marco is reliving bad memories, he can handle it. Wait for your mom or try to wake Marco first. I'm down with doing either."

"Thanks Jackie," Star said. "But I think I can do this. And I want to at least try."

"Go for it then," Jackie said.

Star nodded. She turned towards Marco. He looked peaceful, probably the most peaceful he's looked since coming back to Earth.

Star held the wand out in front of her, pointing it directly at Marco.

She looked at her wand. What Jackie had told her helped a lot. Star's made-up spells may have been chaotic and 'lacked discipline', but they were reliable. While Star had been trying to convince herself that she never read that book because she was a terrible princess, the real reason was obvious: she prefered making her own spells. Her mom took pride in reading every spell in that book and improving upon them, but that wasn't Star's style. Star didn't want to be a better version of her mom, she wanted to be herself.

Her spells weren't just bright flashes of color. They were creatures who had their own personalities. They had dreams and ambitions!

Okay, maybe they didn't. Star didn't know. But she did go through the trouble of giving them cool backstories, like Narwhal Blast, the ex-secret agent who tried to tried to forget his dark past by impaling things. Star put real effort into those spells! Who cared if they weren't like her mom's boring spells! And who cared if she almost failed Baby's dumb princess test! And who cared what Glossarcyk thought of her!

Star was perfectly capable of doing this. It wasn't the usual 'make a big monster feel big amounts of pain' stuff, but she could do it. Jackie believed in her!

Star took a deep breath. She just had to wake Marco up.

And then once he woke up, she could catch him up to speed on everything.

Like how she and Jackie went on an adventure through the wand to fix him.

Like how it was one of her stupid spells that got him stuck in an eternal torment of horrifying memories.

"Star?"

Star shook herself out of her thoughts. In all likelihood, there was a very small chance Marco would _actually_ be mad at her for that. Like, she _created_ Monster Arm and for some reason Marco never thought Toza's death was her fault. Marco didn't blame her for Hekapoo. Marco didn't hate her for Toffee. Marco never got mad at her for those hundreds of dangerous adventures.

Why did she ever expect him to blame her for anything? Marco _never_ got mad at her, no matter how many times she messed up. He was always sweet and kind, and he wouldn't believe that anything was her fault. He would never make her feel useless, either.

He always seemed like the only person that believed in her. When Star stressed over the inevitability of becoming Queen, Marco got her out of her slump. Not even Tom or her mom could do that. And that one time he helped her talk to Oscar. That was so sweet! Not to mention that time Marco gave up a toe in order to save her, which was only a couple of hours ago.

Marco was such a good friend. Star didn't feel like she deserved someone like him in her life. Even if he didn't blame her, there would always be a part of Star that felt guilty about what happened with him and Heckapoo, but it didn't matter.

Star was going to be a better friend to him from now on. She was going to tell him she spied on him and apologize, and then she was going to dedicate all of her time into helping Marco adjust back to Earth. And she _would_ teach him english again, with or without magic!

It didn't matter if Star was going to get grounded tonight for her recklessness. She'd find a way to stay by Marco's side. She'd never let him get kidnapped ever again. She was going to see Marco's cute smile again. And she'd hug him whenever he felt scared or alone. And he was actually Star's favorite person ever. And...and…

...and Star totally had a crush on her best friend…

The wand started glowing pink. It still had it's sights on Marco. Star closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Sparkle Wake-Up Cuddle Blast!"

There was a small pink explosion. Star kept the wand in front of her as she tried to prevent the knockback from hitting her square in the face. Woah, whatever she was making right now, it seemed intense.

And then a loud 'thud' happened as something hit the floor.

What was that?

Star couldn't see the result of her spell until the pink smoke had cleared. Whatever it was, it seemed heavy and she was glad that it managed to miss Marco and hit the floor instead.

"Huh, that's new," Jackie said.

Star was finally able to see it. It was… something all right. It definitely looked like one of her spells, though. It was a tiny pink creature that had four legs and quills on its back. It opened it's eyes and looked up at Star with cute little heart pupils. Despite looking adorable, it gave a pretty derpy expression and didn't say a word.

"Um… hello." Star waved at it.

The rebellious creature refused to answer it's master, and instead waddled it's way to Star's bed.

"So… I guess it's a porcupine," Star said.

"It looks more like a hedgehog to me," Jackie said.

"What the heck is that?"

"You don't have hedgehogs on Mewni?"

"Nope."

"But… it's _your_ spell."

The 'hedgehog' made a brave leap onto Star's sheets and grasped the fabrics with it's tiny nails.

Oh! It was heading towards Marco!

Star watched with rapt attention as it crawled up the sheets.

"You can do it, little guy!" she said.

Then Jackie picked the hedgehog up and put it on top of Marco.

"Jackie!" Star said.

"What?" Jackie said with a shrug. "He looked like he needed some help."

The hedgehog crawled the rest of the way up Marco and then curled up against his face.

"Awe," Star said.

Then, one of the spines on its back pricked Marco's cheek and it turned into a wisp of dust before disappearing through the spot it pricked him.

Marco shifted a little and closed his eyes tighter. Then, his eyes fluttered open ever so slightly.

It worked!

"Ally?" he said, and then sat up and yawned. He looked around the room, and before he could get another word in, Star and Jackie were hugging him.

"Marco!" Star said, squishing him with her arms.

"Thank god you're okay," Jackie said, probably also suffocating him. Marco blinked a few times and looked at the both of them.

"Uh, hi," he said. "Sorry, but, uh, what's going on?"

"Star just pulled you out of your memory coma thing," Jackie said, finally pulling back to let him breath.

Something seemed to dawn on Marco's face. "Oh." Star pulled away from the hug. Marco had probably thought he was still in a memory.

"Uh, what're we doing in Star's room?" he asked.

"That's complicated," Jackie said. Marco laughed.

"Hey, that's my line."

Star felt this whole weight lift off her shoulders. Everything was going to be okay! Marco was back to normal-ish, her mom was going to reverse the memory spell, and everything felt like it was falling into place.

And then Marco froze, his eyes went wide, and he shoved his arm under the blankets.

Um, what?

"No, no, no," Marco said under his breath.

"Marco?" Star asked. Something was definitely wrong.

The blankets started to move and Marco pulled up his knee to make a tent over his arm, like that would somehow distract from the something-obviously-going-on under there.

Then there was an odd sound coming from the blankets, almost like a hissing sound.

"Fffffffffffffffffffff"

"Uh, Marco?" Jackie said, taking a step back.

"It's, uh, nothing, just-"

"Ffffff **fuck yes!** " The blanket tore in two as a giant purple tentacle popped out.

"Oh," Star said. It was just Monster Arm. Or Kar gobledygoop or whatever.

"" **Finally! No more boring soap opera shit! Back to the real world!** " He cackled loudly. " **Fuck yeah** !"

"Kar, there's kids in the room. Tone it down," Marco said, glaring at him.

"Uh, I know swear words…" Jackie said. Marco was so absorbed in his own argument that he seemed to have forgotten that Star and Jackie were even there.

" **No, shut the fuck up, Marco. First you ignored me for two days, and then when we were fucking stuck reliving your stupid mating rituals, you wouldn't listen to my desperate cries of help!** "

"I know you were bored, but what did you want me to do? Go through Mirria again?" Mirria? Wasn't that the place where he killed Toza?

" **Hey, don't bash Mirria. It was a fun time!** " For just a second, Star wanted to blast Kar-Monster-Arm to pieces, but then Marco smiled and Star realized it was a joke.

"Oh yeah, sure. It was a _blast_!" It was really weird, seeing Marco joking around like the knights of Mewni all did about their past battles. Him and Kar-Monster-Arm were war buddies, and it kinda bugged her out. The fact that they were friends at all bugged her out.

"Uh, Marco?" Jackie said.

Oh no! Jackie didn't know about Kar-Monster-Arm! Star completely forgot.

Marco and Kar-Monster-Arm turned to Jackie, and Marco's eyes went wide in realization. He looked between his arm and Jackie and bit his lip. Yeah, he _definitely_ completely forgot they were there. And also that they hadn't met his other half yet.

"Jackie, I can explain-"

"Didn't you bring this guy to school that one time?" Jackie asked, pointing at Kar-Monster-Arm.

"I, uh -" Marco mumbled.

" **Yeah, that was a long time ago. I'm a much bigger asshole now.** " Kar-Monster-Arm reached out and wrapped around Jackie's arm to shake it. " **The name's Kar'Margorach. You're Jackie, right?** " Yeah, there was no way Star liked this thing enough to remember that name.

"Yeah," Jackie said, staring down at where some sort of slimy stuff was ruining her sleeves. "So, uh, how long have you and Marco been together?"

" **I'd say about a decade. I'm practically the reason he won against Heckapoo. Your welcome, by the way."**

"Oh. Uh, thank you?" Jackie said. "So you've really been with him for that long?"

" **Yup. I've watched him mature into a fine adult. If I had any concept of parenthood, I probably would be proud of him, but now we're back to square one in this dimension.** " He laughed. " **He's just a snot-nosed brat again!** "

"Wait, Star, how did you fix the flashbacks?" Marco asked, completely derailing the conversation. "I mean, I'm assuming it was you."

"Oh, it was me!" Star said, with a bit of pride. "But I didn't completely fix it. I was only able to wake you up."

Marco took a moment to think. "So, in other words, I can still pass out at any time?"

"It's not too bad!" Star said. "As long as you're near me, whenever you do pass out I'll be able to wake you up right away."

" **Yeah, that sounds like a really shitty temporary solution,** " Kar-Monster-Arm said. Star didn't recall asking for his opinion, though.

"Weren't you the one who was complaining about being stuck in there for so long?" Jackie asked.

" **Touche.** "

"Give Star _some_ credit, Kar," Marco said. "We spent _weeks_ combing through my memories for a way out. If it wasn't for her we'd be screwed."

Weeks?

" **We would've found a way eventually had you not given up so easily.** "

Marco ignored his comment. "Speaking of which, how long _has_ it been? Have my parents been freaking out?"

"Your folks are fine. You were only out of it for two hours, tops," Jackie said.

Marco gave Jackie a look, and then he closed his eyes and sighed to himself. "Of _course_ it was only two hours."

He rubbed his head, like it was going to make the stupid time differences any less headache-inducing.

"How are we going to fix this?" Marco asked defeatedly.

"Don't worry, Marco," Star said. "My mom is gonna be here soon. Once we explain everything to her, she'll be able to fix you up no problem."

Marco nodded. He still seemed really confused, though. "Did you happen to figure out why this is happening to me? Kar and I tried retracing our steps but…"

"We figured it out, but it'd probably be easier to explain it to you and Star's mom at the same time, you know?" Jackie said.

Uh, why not just tell him now?

"So, you'd say it's… complicated?" Marco smiled like he'd just made the best pun in the world.

" **How about, and hear me out on this, you just tell us now,** " Kar-Monster-Arm said.

"Uh, Kar, it's not really a big deal," Marco said. "If they're gonna fix us, it doesn't really matter why we're fucked up in the first place." Marco flinched a little like he just realized he sweared in front of kids.

Wow, Star was kind of offended. She knew what swears were. She was just taught to never use them. Although Marco never really sweared before. It was like he had less of a filter on or something.

Maybe it was just the transition from going through his adult memories again? Did he feel more like he was still his adult self now that he had just lived through a bunch of the memories?

Star frowned. Did that mean he had to go through the whole re-adapting-to-his-age thing every time he went through a flashback?

Awe, that sucked. At this rate, he'd never feel comfortable being a kid again.

It was a good thing her mom was going to fix this.

"Uh, anyway, I kinda have to piss," Marco said. "I don't know if it's just the fact that it seems like it's been weeks, but I'm gonna go hit the bathroom."

" **Okay, Marco, you go ahead. I'm gonna catch up with these ladies.** "

Ew.

Also, how?

Marco just whistled and gestured with his finger for Kar-Monster-Arm to come with him.

" **I'm not a dog, Marco,** " he said.

"Then stop acting like one," Marco said. Kar-Monster-Arm frowned and followed Marco as they walked down the hall.

" **It was just a joke, I wasn't actually…** " he said, his voice drowning out as they walked away. He sounded like he was embarrassed or something.

Once the coast was clear, Jackie laughed. "Man, those two are ridiculous," she said.

Was Marco just going to have Monster Arm out all the time now?

Ugh. Star didn't know what to think about that.

"You okay, Star?"

"Yeah, I'm, uh…" Oh! Right! She should probably explain Kar-Monster-Arm to Jackie. "Actually, I should probably tell you that tentacle thing."

"No need," Jackie said. "Now that Marco's awake, _he's_ the one who's gonna have to explain this stuff to me, whether he likes it or not." Jackie winked.

"Ha, I guess that's fair," Star said.

"Besides, I already have an idea. After all, I saw him through your spying spell, remember?"

Oh right. Jackie saw Star using the All-Seeing Eye in the hospital bathroom while she was in the wand.

Now that they were alone again, Star felt like she had to get something off her chest.

"Hey Jackie?"

"Yeah?"

"For what it's worth, I _am_ sorry about spying on you and Marco, and I promise I'll never use that dumb spell ever again."

"It's fine, Star, I already said I forgive you. But I appreciate the apology all the same," Jackie said. "And we don't ever have to tell Marco about this, he already has enough on his plate, but you definitely have to pay me back somehow."

Pay her back?

"So… you want to spy on me?" Star asked.

"What? No, I just meant you owe me a favor. I'll think of something cool you can do for me later. Don't worry."

"Oh, alright then." Star _would_ have prefered telling Marco the truth, but Jackie was right. There was too much going on that the All-Seeing Eye didn't seem that important, not that he would remember that night to begin with. She was already gonna have to explain the Memory Restoration spell to Marco, so it was better if they dealt with one thing at a time.

Star was just glad Jackie didn't hate her for using that dark magic. Who knows, if Jackie hadn't called her out on it, she may have never stopped using it.

Then Star remembered something else she had to admit to Jackie.

"Hey Jackie?" Star said quietly.

"Hey Star," Jackie said playfully.

Ugh, it was like Jackie knew where Star was going with this.

Star readied herself for a barrage of 'I told you so's.

Well, she might as well go ahead and say it.

"Jackie, you were right."

Jackie just smiled. "Oh really?" she said. "What was I right about?"

"You were right about me and Marco."

"Oh? I don't seem to remember what I said that was so absolutely correct. Maybe you can enlighten me. Perhaps it has something to do with that giant epiphany you had all over your face before you cast that spell..." The smirk stayed ever present on her face, but she was right, Star had to admit it. Out loud.

"I-I have a crush on Marco," Star said, almost at a whisper.

Jackie just held up a hand to high five her. "Join the club."

Geez, Jackie was acting so weird. Star didn't know how to respond to it.

"And, I _was_ jealous when I saw you two together, and I'm sorry I destroyed your skateboard."

Jackie lost her smile. "Star…"

"But… it's okay! You don't have to worry about me trying to take him from you."

"Star, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I'll stay out of your way. Like, he's all yours. You two deserve each other."

Jackie looked at her like she was crazy. "Uh, what? Did you hit your head or something? Marco isn't mine at all. He might not be interested in either of us anymore, Star."

"But, like, aren't you guys dating?"

"Not really? He's been gone for sixteen years, Star."

"But, you guys kissed at the sleepover!"

"No, _I_ kissed _him_ , and it was just cause I was angry and he was hiding things from me." Jackie rubbed at her arm awkwardly. "And I kinda feel bad about it now."

Star didn't really get how kissing and anger had anything to do with each other. Maybe it was an Earth thing?

"But we're definitely not dating anymore. I mean, you heard him back there. We're little kids to him. Whatever we had is kind of gone." Jackie realized something and reworded herself. "Not to say that I don't still totally dig him, or anything. Just that you and me are on even grounds, and, eventually, he'll like whoever he likes, you know?"

Now Star could kind of see where Jackie was coming from. Sort of. "I mean, I guess?"

"Listen, Star. Marco's been with at least one woman long enough to almost get _engaged_ , and who knows how many other girls he's been with. Or guys, I'm not judging. I just don't think it'll be up to us to choose who he ends up with. He probably knows what he's doing by now."

Oh, yeah, there was that, too. Marco was probably really experienced in all things dating. Jackie and Star didn't have a chance.

"Let's not get into some dumb high-school drama about who gets to be with Marco. For now, let's just work on fixing him, as his friends. Let's just… be there for him! Let's embrace the friend-zone!"

Star still thought Jackie was weird. She didn't quite understand it, but she was willing to roll with the punches if Jackie did.

Okay, yeah. They should work on helping Marco first. He needed them more than some silly relationships. It wasn't like she'd mind being just friends with Marco forever. She could hardly think of anything better!

But, speaking of friendship...

"Jackie?"

"Yeah, Star?"

"Even if we help Marco together, _we're_ still friends too, right?" Star asked.

Jackie smiled and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Of course, dude! I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Star smiled giddily.


	21. Chapter 21: Hindrance

_Marco ran through the hallway, dragging his stupid weight behind him and wishing his path was just a little bit wider so he could just carry the fucking thing. He felt a little sorry for whoever lived here, what with how bad he was tearing up their hand-weaved, golden carpet, but after one look behind him, he remembered that he didn't give a shit what happened to their stupid house if it meant he could survive._

 _Another one of the creatures popped out of a door and blocked his path. In the second before he reached it, Marco pulled out his trusty sword, Marcalibur, and swung for its head._

 _The sword shattered as it hit stone, and one of the shards sliced Marco's cheek._

 _"Fucking piece of-" That was the last time he bought a cheap sword. Now he didn't have a weapon!_

 _Unless…_

 _Marco ducked down and swung his arm over his head. Ice met stone, and apparently ice won. The statue shattered under the impact and the giant block of ice made a dent in the floor. Marco examined his arm._

 _Nope, the damn thing didn't crack one bit._

 _He was_ so _going to kill Heckapoo for this._

 _Marco looked down at the rubble and sighed. Well, at least he kind of had a weapon. Though he'd be able to take these guys out pretty easily if he could just use both of his arms. He couldn't even perform a ritual until he got this thing off._

 _The stumbling of more stone statues rumbled down from behind him. Right, he was still being chased!_

 _He took a moment to think, though. Would Heckapoo make them chase him away from her or towards her? On one hand, it was likely that it was just to get Marco lost in this stupid labyrinth of a mansion, but on the other, maybe he was being chased into some sort of trap._

 _He should probably go towards them. They might have been coming from where she was hiding, so it was the best idea to go that way._

 _Marco turned around and was face-to-face with no less than twenty of the living statues._

 _Right, running from them it was!_

 _Marco turned back around and took one step forward before being ripped back by the weight of his own arm._

 _Shit, it was stuck again!_

 _The statues ran at him and Marco braced himself for impact, only to be bumped into by a few of them as they ran right past._

 _Uh, what?_

 _They kept running away from him after the last had cleared his path. Not a single one paid him a glance._

 _So if they weren't after him, then…_

 _Marco had no idea what was going on. Only one way to find out, though._

 _Marco jerked his arm a few times until his arm broke through the floor pieces it was stuck in, and then ran after the statues._

 _They led him to a ballroom, with a wide open area and a chapel ceiling. God, this place looked so damn nice._

 _Compared to the open space, though, the statues were all crowded against a door, slamming against it with all their might. There was clearly a force field of some sort protecting it, and the statues who had been there the longest seemed to be cracking from their repeated attempts._

 _Whatever they were after, it was in that room, and Marco wanted it first._

 _Marco looked around at the other doors, and spotted one near the entrance they were futilely ramming against. He snuck past and slipped into that door, which led to some sort of storage space for dishes and table decorations._

 _He barricaded the door he'd just gone through and went up to the wall on the side of the room. On the other side of that wall was probably whatever those statues (and whoever was controlling them) was after._

 _"Don't let me down now, Monster Arm," Marco said, swinging his ice-encased tentacle-arm at the wall._

 _Drywall and bricks gave way and Marco dived into the cloud of dust, letting the momentum from his arm carry him through._

 _"What the hell?" Heckapoo said. She was floating over a bed, a golden glow emitting from her hands to an unconscious child. Some pebbles from the wall almost hit the kid._

 _Wow, Marco didn't even know what to think._

 _"Marco? What're you doing here?" she asked, more annoyed than anything. "Have you been stalking me?"_

 _"I'd prefer to use the term 'following'," Marco said. There was a pounding sound as the statues slammed against the barricaded door in the other room. "What're you doing?"_

 _"Making bank. Now answer my question. Why are you here?" She never moved from her spot or stopped casting her spell._

 _"I followed you because I want you to fix me."_

 _"Oh, boy, that's a loaded request there. You're a pretty messed up guy," she said with a smile._

 _"Cut the bullshit," Marco said. "I want you to fix my memories, and my arm while you're at it."_

 _"Hell no!" Heckapoo said. "I told you already, you're just gonna have to deal with it. As for your arm, I can perform the demoncism, but it's an expensive procedure, so it'll cost you."_

 _Argh, despite her being the most passive clone he'd met, she somehow managed to be the most annoying._

 _It was like Marco was recovering from the world's worst blackout. The last thing he remembered was following that stupid priest, and then he woke up in a Heckapoo clone's house, right next to Monster Arm's ugly frozen face. Who knew what had been going on the last few weeks… or months…_

 _And why was Heckapoo keeping it a secret from him? She had admitted to censoring his memories, but she wouldn't tell him why._

 _Marco heard the barricade breaking in the other room. The statues were climbing through into the pantry, and the only thing stopping them was the big-ass hole in the wall Marco had just made._

 _"Balls," whispered Heckapoo._

 _Heckapoo probably needed to concentrate on the boy. Knowing her 'profession', she was most likely curing him of some sickness or disease. That didn't really explain the bloodthirsty statues, but Marco could still take advantage of the situation._

 _"Alright, if I help you protect the kid, can you tell me what happened before I woke up in your home?"_

 _"No," Heckapoo said._

 _"Why not? Do you see the situation you're in right now?"_

 _"Marco, why should I promise you anything for helping me out?"_

 _"Because-"_

 _"You expect me to believe you'll sit back and let this helpless kid get slaughtered if I don't do as you say? You're not fooling anyone."_

 _Damn, she was good. "I-"_

 _"Now shut up and be my bodyguard," Heckapoo said._

 _Marco sighed. Sometimes he really hated how nice he was._

 _The statues were on top of themselves trying to fit through the hole. Thankfully, it was still just big enough to fit Marco's smaller frame. If Marco aimed properly, he could just shove his ice chunk of an arm into the statues without causing any additional damage to the wall._

 _Marco steadied Monster Arm with his left hand. God, it was so cold. His shitty fingerless glove wasn't helping, either. As much as they looked cool, fingerless gloves were fucking useless at actually protecting his hands from the elements._

 _Regardless, he managed to keep his balance and rammed the ice chunk through the hole, shattering the statues in the process._

 _There were about a dozen more statues crammed inside that room. They started heading towards the open hole, now that he had brought attention to it. Marco pulled his arm back and rammed it in again. The statues in front were destroyed and their pieces managed to strike a few more of their brethren._

 _Rinse, lather, repeat. The pantry just kept filling up with more statues, replacing the ones he was shattering._

 _"We need to find the wizard controlling them or this will never end," Marco said._

 _Heckapoo looked at him like he was an idiot. "A wizard?"_

 _"Yeah. What else would be capable of animating statues like this?" Marco thought it was obvious._

 _"This is clearly the work of a gorgon. They went a little overboard with their victims, though. They must be desperate."_

 _It took a moment for Marco to realize she wasn't joking. "Since when were gorgons able to control their victims? When was that ever a thing?"_

 _"Not everything revolves around your dimension's interpretation of it's tourists, Marco."_

 _"What-" Oh god. Did Heckapoo just explain the the origin of all Earth mythology?_

 _A gorgon-victim scratched Marco's arm, leaving a deep gash._

 _Shit!_

 _Marco pushed them back into the wall and smashed their faces with his frozen arm._

 _"Wait, have I been killing people?" Marco said, trying to block the hole. The chunk of ice was big enough to just leave a crack of space in the wall, so it would work. Besides, the statue-people kept interrupting him. It was just easier to block their entrance than try to diminish their numbers._

 _"Don't worry. Those servants are well past dead," Heckapoo said._

 _Ah. Okay. They were the mansion's servants. Wow, the mansion had a lot of servants. "What are these guys trying to do?"_

 _"They're after the kid. Long story short: His parents died, he inherited their wealth, and the trusted servant next in line, who may or may not be our gorgon, wants the kid dead."_

 _Yeah, none of this was any of Marco's business. Not that it was going to stop him from asking questions. "So getting the kid sick was plan A?"_

 _"Yup," Heckapoo said. "This disease is pretty rare in these parts. They must have imported it and hid it in a drink. They didn't count on me being a genius, though, so now they moved on to less subtle means of getting the job done."_

 _The door on the other side of the room burst open and a horde of statues came tumbling through._

 _"Shit," Marco said, running over and intercepting them. He wasn't about to let them kill some innocent kid, no matter how much Heckapoo gave him shit for it. Granted, she was also saving the kid, so-_

 _A statue tackled Marco from behind. Right, the hole had to be guarded, too._

 _"You idiot!" Heckapoo said. Marco hit the ground and another statue got on him, too. Holy hell, they were heavy._

 _Marco tried to lift himself up, but he only had one arm to work with, and he had two stone statues weighing him down._

 _Instead, he tried to turn himself over, and swung his frozen arm around at the statues on top of him as extra momentum._

 _He heard the familiar crack of the ice smashing through stone, and then an unfamiliar pop as his arm continued swinging until it hit the ground._

 _"Fuck!" Marco yelled as the pain shot up from his shoulder. He jumped up to his feet, and the pain from the weight dragging him down made him see stars._

 _Yup, he just dislocated his shoulder. Great._

 _Another statue swung its arm at him, and he barely dodged fast enough to not die. He kicked it back, and it staggered for a few feet, but it was completely unharmed._

 _Marco looked down at where Monster Arm was frozen in place and silently wished that his arm was a tentacle just a_ little _bit higher up. If he'd had a tentacle-shoulder maybe he could at least still use it as a weapon. Right now, he felt like he could chop his arm off, and he'd still be better off than standing in the middle of this horrible tactical position._

 _Another statue came at him and he kicked it in the jaw. The thing doubled back, but it didn't even crack._

 _Fuck. There was no way he was going to live through this._

 _"Well this is just fucking perfect. I guess my quest ends here," Marco said, kicking a couple more statues away from him._

 _"Don't give up yet, dude," Heckapoo said, and for a second she seemed almost desperate._

 _"I wouldn't even be in this situation if you just told me what happened!"_

 _"Listen. It was for your own good!"_

 _"Since when do any of you care about what's good for me?" Marco held his frozen arm and swung it as carefully as he could to knock into another statue. His shoulder felt like it was ripping apart and he cried out in pain._

 _"Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about you. I just care about me," she said._

 _"How the hell does me having my memories have anything to do with you?" A few more statues poured into the room. He wouldn't be able to hold them off for much longer. Him fighting back was just an instinctive formality. This was it._

 _"Because if you kill yourself, the quest is over, and I don't get to exist anymore!"_

 _Kill himself? Why would he- oh god. Whatever was in those memories must have been bad enough to make him consider it._

 _Marco glared down at Monster Arm. Of course he did something terrible, freaking Monster Arm was here. What other conclusion was there?_

 _As Marco examined his right 'arm' further, he noticed small particles of blood frozen in place around the tentacle. Oh my God._

 _A statue swung at him and knocked him to his knees._

 _Right. He could consider suicide later._

 _"Marco!" Heckapoo said, and he almost thought it was her worrying about him, but then he saw a group of statues run past him towards her._

 _She didn't want to die..._

 _Marco was already smashing his arm into the statues before he even realized what he was doing._

 _This clone wanted to exist. She didn't want to die. He'd never seen one sound so desperate to live. They always seemed so cocky and teasing when he blew out their flames._

 _Yet, somehow, this clone was helping some kid and asking for help. Asking Marco for help._

 _He wasn't about to let her, or the kid, die._

 _Marco swung his arm again, bearing through the pain for just the moment, and crushed through three statues. As the weight of his ice-block of an arm hit the ground, he felt another statue slam into his good shoulder._

 _Fuck!_

 _Wait, that was it!_

 _Marco spun around and aimed his bad shoulder at the next statue running at him. If he could just get the angle right…_

 _Marco screamed in pain as his shoulder slammed back into its socket._

 _Perfect._

 _Marco swung his frozen arm around and smashed through another statue. He almost passed out from the pain, but at least he could use his only weapon._

 _A bright light filled the room, and Marco turned around just in time to see the Heckapoo clone slam her heel into one of the statues' faces. It fell to the ground and she landed on top of it._

 _"Alright. Kid's fine. Just needs three days of rest," Heckapoo said._

 _Marco smiled. He made the right choice._

 _"I hate spells that stop you from moving," she said, stretching her arms up._

 _Marco pointed at his arm to help show her the hypocrisy of her own statement._

 _She ignored him and instead said, "Now, what'd'ya say we crush some statues and kill a gorgon?"_

 _Marco nodded. They both covered a different side of the kid's bed and the statues charged at them._

 _..._

Marco swung his upper body forward as he woke up.

Oh. It was just another flashback. Marco was back in his room, and he was a teenager again. He looked around the room in a daze.

Right in front of his bed was Star, fast asleep on a bean-bag chair. Gentle snores escaped her mouth and drool was going down to her neck. She looked cute when she slept.

Star had insisted that she spend the night in Marco's room, to use her 'wake-up' spell whenever he got lost in another flashback. Marco was quick to point out that he would be unconscious anyway, if he was sleeping, but Star wouldn't take no for an answer.

She probably felt bad. Not just for the Memory Restoration spell, but for the fact that as soon as Marco left her sight to go the bathroom, he had another flashback and hit his head on the toilet. Since then, Star had been practically clinging to him.

Yet, here she was. Sleeping on the job while Marco had experienced yet another flashback. Not that he really gave a shit. It was actually nice seeing H-Poo again. Even if she looked exactly like Hekapoo, that clone's particular quirkiness charmed Marco to no end.

Marco saw his digital clock, knowing damn well he still couldn't understand what was on it. He was awake, but didn't want to wake up Star. She really needed the sleep.

Marco looked down at his right palm.

' ** _Good fuckin' morning_** ,' Kar thought to Marco.

' _Hey,_ ' Marco thought back. Now that he was fully conscious, a headache began to rear its ugly head. The constant transitions from adult to teenager were starting to get nauseating.

Marco wondered if Kar felt the same way. He didn't age like a normal person, but his form slowly evolved over time. While he started out as purple and squishy, by the time they were down to the last thirty clones, Kar was dark green and completely covered in exo-armor and spikes.

' ** _Oh, believe me, I feel like shit, Marco, but not for THAT reason_** **.'**

Oh yeah. How come after so many years Marco always managed to forget that Kar could read his mind?

' ** _Because you're an idiot. Here's a better question, how did you manage to forget about my entire existence for two days while I was nothing but a bunch of cells in your arm_** **?'**

' _Listen, there was a lot of overwhelming stuff going on at the time, in case that wasn't obvious.'_

' ** _Admit it, now that you're a normal human again, you don't want me around anymore. I noticed that fact before we went to Earth. You wouldn't even let me say hi to Star when she picked us up._** '

' _Well I'm sorry I didn't want the emotional reunion with my best friend to be ruined by swears and innuendos. Also, you know how impulsive Star gets. She would've blasted you without a second thought.'_

' ** _All I'm saying is, now that everyone knows about me, can you please let me stay out for more than a few seconds at a time? I go crazy whenever I'm alone inside your arm, trapped with my own thoughts_** **.'**

Marco could relate. ' _Fine, but you need to control yourself around them, especially with my parents. We're not in Heckapoo's Dimension anymore. On Earth, Social Grace has more value than the number of soldiers you've slaughtered.'_

' ** _So… act like a total pansy_** **?'**

Marco rolled his eyes. ' _Sure. More or less.'_

For the next few seconds, all Marco heard in his head were contemplative groans, as if Kar was in deep thought considering the pros and cons of not acting like an asshole. He really wished that mind-reading thing worked both ways.

' ** _Alright_** **,** ' Kar thought. **'I** ** _realize your reputation with your family and friends is hanging on a loose thread, so I'll calm down just this once. For you_** **.'**

Wow, was Kar actually taking this seriously? ' _Thanks,_ ' Marco thought with a smile.

' ** _Besides, I imagine I'll still be a part of you for a week at most, so it's not too bad. By then, Star should have my new body ready, right_** **?'**

What the hell was he talking about? 'E _xcuse me?'_

There was a slight pause. ' ** _Remember that promise you made to me back in Mirria_** **?'**

 _'The promise we made about how we'd never talk about Mirria again, and then we proceeded to bring up all the time?'_

' ** _No! Oh my God… the promise you made that once we finally left Hekapoo's Dimension, you'd convince Star to make a body I could use to live on my own!_** '

Oh, that promise! Marco'd completely forgotten. Did Kar not realize Marco was just lying through his teeth when he made that promise years ago?

' ** _What the fuck did you just say?'_**

Damnit, Diaz. He could read your mind!

' _Hear me out, Kar. Back then, you were really unstable. We needed you to cooperate with us, but you wouldn't budge, so me and H-Poo... made a slight lie so you'd be on our side._ '

Kar didn't respond, and that made Marco nervous. Kar didn't have the same temper as before, but on the rare occasion when he got mad enough, things turned ugly.

 **'** ** _What then, huh? If you never intended to stay true to your side of the deal, what were you originally planning to do with me once I gave you the dirt on Elesh_** **?'**

' _Isn't it obvious? We we're going to perform a Demoncism on you.'_

 _'_ _ **Then why didn't you**_?'

' _Because I realized you were useful. I couldn't fight Elesh on my own, and when H-Poo's flame got blown out, I only had you to count on.'_

 ** _'So you were just… using me?'_**

 _'Well, yeah. You were using me, too. Circle of life and all that.'_

 ** _'What about after?'_**

 _'Oh, after that we became friends and I realized you were pretty cool.'_ Marco shrugged. It wasn't too big of a deal.

 ** _'It is_** ** _a big deal! You would've left me as an insentient pile of cells in your arm for years if that doctor didn't need you to prove anything!'_**

 _'What? No!'_ Marco thought. _'Why are you still hung up on that?'_

 ** _'Because I was just a means to an end for you, and now I'm just the an old, rusty sword you can't get rid of.'_**

Oh. It was just this again.

 ** _'What is that supposed to mean?'_** Kar thought. Jeez, he always had to take things so personally.

 _'We go through this every few months. It's the same conversation, rehashed. That's all I meant.'_

 ** _'No, this isn't the same. This is about us beating Heckapoo and me being useless to you now.'_**

 _'As opposed to you being useless in the Ancient Temples of Kalodar? Or you being useless in the Afflicted Forest?'_

 ** _'No, those were different-'_**

 _'Is this what that new body thing is about? You don't want to get your freedom. You just think it'll make me happier?'_ Marco thought it was strange that he never brought up this deal once, and then all of the sudden cared about it.

 ** _'Marco, look at the facts. We're on Earth again. There's no magic, no battles. I'm just a hindrance,'_** Kar thought. ' ** _Like, say you go on a date with that Jackie chick. What am I_** ** _going to contribute?'_**

 _'Kar, you're not a hindrance.'_

 ** _'You've been hiding me every chance you get when you're around people now. I get it. It's not socially acceptable to have a giant tentacle monster sit down at the table with the family for brunch.'_**

Marco couldn't say he was wrong.

 ** _'Marco, I thought it would get easier when we won. I thought we would leave everything behind and be happier.'_**

Yeah, Marco had kind of placed all his hopes in that, too.

 ** _'I thought I would feel better.'_**

"Kar…"

 ** _'We saved so many people. But it never makes up for Mirria. It never makes up for Toza, for Spider Child. I thought I would forgive myself. I thought I wouldn't hate myself anymore when this was over.'_**

 _'Yeah,'_ Marco thought. _'Me, too.'_

Apparently Kar didn't have a response to that.

 _'Listen, Kar. You're not the only one who's a hindrance. Ever since we came back to Earth, I've been a huge headache for everyone here. They all had to stop their lives to help me. My parents have to raise a crazy, traumatized adult stuck in a kid's body, and all my friends skipped school to try to help me adjust, and Star and Jackie went on an insane life-threatening adventure to help me. You wanna talk hindrances? Try making everyone in your life stop what they're doing to try and pick up the pieces left behind by poor broken shattered Marco.'_

' ** _Why are we here then? If we're just gonna be a pain to everyone, why stay in this dimension?'_**

' _Because that's what everyone wanted. Because Star asked me to._ ' No, wait. Those were lies. ' _Because I missed them.'_

There was a short moment of silence before Kar thought, **_'But, if we stay here, we can't go on any more adventures, we can't save any more people.'_**

He was right.

 ** _'Adventures are only things that make us happy. You know this. What, are you just going to sit back and live a miserable life on boring old Earth?'_**

No, he wasn't going to sit back and do nothing, but he was still going to stay on Earth, at least for a little while.

 ** _'There won't be any adventures here, Marco. Even if there were, I doubt they would let you.'_**

It wasn't like he was making bad points. Everything he said was true.

Marco wasn't going to run away, though. He wasn't about to ditch his friends and family again for an adrenaline rush.

Marco looked over at the sleeping Star. She'd tried so hard to get him back. She casted a memory spell on him just to help him out. She'd done so much to help him readjust. She wanted to reteach him English. He wasn't about to leave her.

 _'Then I guess we'll just have to find something else here that makes us happy,'_ he thought.

Kar didn't say anything.

' _Kar, I'm really sorry about… well, ignoring you. I didn't mean to hurt you like that. I've just been so focused on getting up to speed with Earth. But I realize that it'll more than a weekend to do it. So… if I'm going to be a hindrance to everyone, can you be one with me?_ '

' ** _I'm not human, though. I'll just make things more difficult for you._** '

' _I mean, neither is Star, and she turned out fine. Hell, remember that flashback when I brought you to school? You beat up a bully and everyone thought we were heroes. Even Jackie was impressed. That was one of the first times she acknowledged my existence. Honestly, I think you'd be fine._ '

' ** _What about people like Dr. Singer_** **?'**

' _We can deal with those roadblocks when we get to them, together_.'

 _'_ _ **Marco…'**_

 _'Yeah'_

' ** _I just want you to know that I fucking despise you. You're a self-righteous little shit, and when you aren't acting like a brain-dead idiot, you're only thinking with your dick. I can't believe, out of all the assholes I could be stuck to, it had to be you. How the hell you managed to awaken my inner soft-side is beyond me. I remember when I was happy being a vicious curse that that sought non-discriminatory genocide and bowels. But you and your girly pep talks changed all that. Now, I'm a demon curse with feelings. A fucking_** _curse_ _ **with**_ _feelings_ _ **! Now I care about all the mistakes I've made in the past. I care about others, about you. I know I'm not always the nicest or the most useful, and I hate myself because I know you deserve better than me. So next time you sigh as we rehash the same conversation from a few months ago, about how bad I think I am, just remember that it's your own fucking fault!'**_

Fucking Galdos. 'So, _basically, you're saying…_ '

' ** _...Thank you_** **,** ' Kar thought.

'... _Your welcome,_ ' Marco thought back with a smile. He was glad these conversations always ended the same, too.

 ** _'You know, I do kinda want my own body still. Not because of the whole hating myself thing, just-'_** The sound of a portal opening cut Kar short.

What?

Marco jumped out of bed and ran over to his desk. His scissors weren't there. Where-

Oh, right. Star had loaned them to her father.

' ** _It came from outside,_** ' Kar thought.

' _Come on out, just in case.'_

Marco pulled up his sleeve and his arm morphed into Kar'Margorach. Once the transformation was complete, Kar pointed at the window and Marco went up to it.

There was a light blue portal in the middle of his driveway. Marco watched carefully. He wasn't about to jump to conclusions, but he readied himself in case an enemy came through. He would only have a second to ambush them.

Then, a tall green monster stepped out of the portal, carrying what looked like a frozen barbarian with it. Okay then. Nothing weird so far.

The barbarian was a short blonde man wearing a loincloth, covered head to toe with scratches and bruises. His expression was angry and intense. Upon further inspection, Marco realized that he was actually trapped in crystal, not ice. Some guys got all the luck, he supposed.

The green monster had a crystal head, wore a purple cape, and his nipples were very prominent.

" **Marco, the guy has snakes for arms and you focus on his nipples?** "

"You really think monster appendages sunrise me anymore, Kar?"

" **Good point**."

A woman in a blue gown stepped out of the portal with an imposing sense of grace. It looked like a prisoner transfer was going on.

Except, wait, the markings on the woman's face reminded him of Star's.

Oh, it was her mother!

"Thank you, Rhombulus. I'll take it from here," she said.

"You know, breaking into the High Commission is a serious offense, Queen Moon," Rhombulus said. "He's lucky your his wife."

"Please don't remind me…"

Rhombulus shrugged and brought his snake-arms to the top of his head. A beam of light shot out and hit the crystal, dissolving it and freeing the barbarian, who Marco was assuming was Star's father.

" **Took them long enough** ," Kar said.

Marco nodded. Star had told him that it would take a long time for her father to get ahold of her mother, even with the dimensional scissors. She wasn't sure when exactly how long it would take, though.

It apparently took him all night. Jackie and Janna had already gone back home, so it was up to Marco and Star to explain everything to her parents now.

Oh, right. Star should probably be awake for this.

Marco walked over to Star, ignoring the rest of the conversation going on down in the driveway. He bent down and gently touched her shoulder with his left hand. Kar silenced himself. The last thing they wanted to do was freak her out.

"Star, it's time to wake up," Marco said.

Star yawned and wiped the side of her face without any drool on it. She opened her eyes and looked up at Marco and for just a moment Marco wanted nothing more than to let her sleep.

"Your parents are here," he said instead, and Star's eyes widened in realization. Then, in a flash of movement, Star jumped out of bed and wiped the side of her face with the actual drool on it.

"My parents are here!" she said, flattening out the wrinkles in her dress and trying to brush through her hair with her hands. "How does my hair look?"

"Like a dirty broom," Marco said, "like always."

Apparently that wasn't the answer she needed because she ran to the bathroom and started brushing her hair in a panic. Marco followed close behind her.

"Star, calm down. Everything is going to be fine."

"Marco! I can't calm down! I messed up really bad and my parents have to fix it, and I have to tell them just how bad it is and-"

"Star! I'm fine. I'm alive. You didn't mess up that bad. If anything, your spell worked," Marco said.

For just a moment, she looked over at Marco with a completely sober and calm face, and then she said, "I can't be wearing this!" and ran into her room, throwing clothes left and right from her dresser.

"Star, you have a wand!" Marco said.

"Oh, right!" Star said. She ran back into Marco's room and picked her wand off the floor.

As Marco chased her, he wondered where she got all this energy moments after waking up.

Star waved her wand without a word, and her hair went up into a fancy bun. Then, with another two waves of the wand, she was in a royal gown and Marco was in a fancy suit. The arm of the suit ripped apart where Kar's body started.

"Star, I think you're going a bit overboard," Marco said. Star looked at him and the ripped arm of the suit and noticed Kar for the first time since waking up.

"No, _that's_ overboard!" she said, pointing at Kar.

"What?" Marco asked.

" **Did you just refer to me as a 'that'?** " Kar said.

"You can't have Monster Arm out like that, Marco. My parents will _flip."_

"His name isn't Monster Arm, Star. It's Kar'Margorach."

" **Yeah, Monster Arm was my slave name,** " Kar joked. Marco wanted to hit him.

"Well, he's a monster and an arm. Thus- Monster Arm," Star said, completely ignoring Kar. "The point is that my parents will try to kill him."

" **Actually, she's got a point.** "

"No, she doesn't! You're not even a monster, you're a demonic curse!" Marco said.

" **No, I mean about her parents trying to kill me,** " Kar said.

Star looked at him, probably shocked that they agreed on something.

" **I mean, we've seen what man does to things that don't look like them, Marco.** "

Star frowned and looked at the ground.

"That doesn't matter," Marco said. "Star, listen."

Star looked up at him with all the attention in the world.

"Kar's been my greatest ally for over a decade. He's saved my life countless times. He's been there with me through thick and thin. The least I can do is let him exist, you know?"

Star thought about it for a moment before saying, "Okay, but does he have to exist _right now?"_

"If not now, then when?"

"Tomorrow?" Star said.

"Star, doesn't it kind of defeat the point of being honest with your parents if you're lying about other things?"

Kar gave him a look and thought, **_'You know you're being an absolute hypocrite right now, right?'_**

 _'That's not the same. Her secrets aren't as bad.'_ Marco thought back.

Finally, Star said, "Okay, fine. What's another mistake to add to the confession, right?"

"Thank you," Marco said. "Can you change my clothes back now?"

"Nope," Star said. She flicked her wand anyway, though, and Marco's suit changed ever so slightly to incorporate Kar into the design. The sleeve stretched up to right under Kar's mouth, and it separated to look like a suit.

" **Yes!** " Kar said, excitedly checking out his new clothes. " **This is fucking awesome, Star.** "

Star smiled a little and scratched the back of her head. "Oh, you know, it was nothing, really-"

The sound of a doorbell caught their attention.

Star's parents had finally finished whatever conversation they'd been having and were waiting at the door.

It was time.

Star took a deep breath. "Here we go."

Then, she ran out the door and down the stairs.

"Coming!" she yelled, probably waking the whole house up. That is, if they weren't already up from her previous antics.

" **Marco, not that I don't appreciate the gesture and all, but you do realize letting them see me could turn out to be a big mistake,** " Kar said, " **not unlike my creation.** "

Marco shrugged. "Hey, you turned out alright, right?"

Kar groaned. " **Ugh, you and your fucking optimism.** "

"You know you love it," Marco said. He could hear Star talking to her parents downstairs. "You ready?"

" **No, but there's not really anything I can do about it. I'm stuck with you regardless."**

"Perfect," Marco said. He took a deep breath and made his way over to the stairs.

From the top of the stairs, he could see Star's parents up close. They were talking with Star still.

Another deep breath and he walked down the stairs.

Suddenly, all eyes were on him. Or, rather, all eyes were on _Kar._ Star's parents grit their teeth. Well, it was too late to back out now.

"Hello," Marco said, diverting their attention for just a second. "I'd like you to meet my best friend, Kar'Margorach."


	22. Chapter 22: A Tradition Hard to Break

**Author's Notes: Alright, folks, here's some background. On December 26th, we released this little Holiday special on the Archieveofourown (AO3) version of this fic, which is the main website this fic is posted on. Due to an extremely busy schedule and CRIPPLING LAZINESS, I wasn't able to upload this chapter here until now. So… uh… sorry about that.**

 **Also some warning: THIS IS CONSIDERED FILLER! If you're *only* interested in the main story, just skip this. This chapter (well, the last scene, anyway) takes place slightly in the future. Chapter 23 will take place directly after Chapter 21. This was just a fun thing we wanted to do around the holidays. Enjoy.**

 _..._

 _Marco hung the last string of beads onto the tree branch. It was perfect._

 _He looked around the room and double checked that everything hung in the correct spot, and nothing was an inch out of place._

 _Satisfied with his decorating prowess, he looked at the tree, adorned with small treasures he'd earned from his missions, and smiled wide. It only needed one more thing._

 _Marco closed his eyes and flayed his fingers out in front of him. He muttered those strange words Allion had taught him, and felt the magic flow through his fingers and out from his fingertips._

 _It was such a crazy feeling, and Marco smiled even wider. He couldn't wait to show Star what he could do when he got home. The idea of him teaching her magic excited him to no end!_

 _Oh, man, and his parents would be so proud that those summers spent camping finally paid off! He'd had so many exciting stories of him combating nature already!_

 _Marco opened his eyes again and looked at the tiny lights floating around the tree. It looked better than he could imagine. Ally would be so excited!_

 _Now he just needed to-_

 _A knock at the door interrupted his train of thought._

 _"Wait, its not ready! Don't come in yet!" Marco said. Allion opened the door anyway, though, and stopped short when she saw the decorations scattered across the room._

 _"What in the world is this?" she said, and Marco wasn't sure if she was annoyed or amazed._

 _"It's Christmas!" Marco said with a bright smile._

 _Allion continued to move her eyes around the room. She kept her distance in the hallway, though, as if not wanting to catch whatever disease that was making Marco act this way._

 _He understood. This was Aliion's first time experiencing the magic of the holidays. Not literal magic, mind you, but something much grander._

 _Allion was carrying a box in her hands. Yes!_

 _Marco grabbed her by the shoulders. "I can't believe it! You actually got me a present!"_

 _It was a good thing Allion's hands were being used, otherwise Marco might've had a knife in his jugular right now. He forgot Allion didn't like being touched._

 _"Sorry," he said, pulling his hands away._

 _Still freaked out, Allion maintained her composure. "Well, yeah, I'm just doing what you asked. I didn't want to disrespect your religion or anything." What?_

 _Marco put his hands up in defense. "Oh nononono. Christmas isn't a religion thing."_

 _Allion looked past him at all the meticulous decorations and lifted an eyebrow at him._

 _"Okay, technically it has religious origins, but Christmas is now something that anyone can enjoy, no matter what you believe in," Marco said whimsically._

 _"Even if you believe Christmas is a bunch of bullshit?"_

 _Marco would not to be deterred by her insults. "I'd be careful if I were you, Allion. Those who don't accept the Christmas spirit have been known to be visited by three ghosts to be shown the error of their ways."_

 _"Well it's a good thing I know an Exorcism Ritual, so those ghosts can go fuck themselves," Allion said. "Also, great message, Marco. 'Conform to my totally-non- religious beliefs or be threatened by spirits of the dead.' I'm feeling the love already."_

 _Marco sighed. "Alright. You coming in or what?" He lifted up his arm, welcoming her into the room._

 _"This is my room, too. I don't need your damn permission," Allion said._

 _"I'm trying to be nice!" Marco said. "Just... put my present under the tree."_

 _Allion walked inside and kneeled by the tree. She placed the box right next to the present Marco got for her, which was a much longer box wrapped in a warm red fabric he found in a Zonst market. Wrapping paper didn't exist in Heckapoo's dimension, so Marco compromised._

 _Allion examined the white orbs of light on the tree. She seemed speechless. She must've never seen something so beautiful before!_

 _"Did you use the Light Ritual for this?" Allion asked, a little less enamored than Marco expected her to be._

 _"Yeah!" Marco said. "I wanted to see if there was a way to change the color of them to red or green, but I couldn't figure it out. Do you know how?"_

 _"Marco, the Light Ritual is meant for surviving dark caverns and harsh nights in the forest. It isn't a fashion accessory."_

 _"Didn't you tell me the rituals had an unknown origin? Can you say for sure that whoever made them only had survival in mind?"_

 _Allion rolled her eyes. "Whatever. It looks fine, I guess. I just hope losing feeling in your hands for the next few hours was worth it."_

 _Marco was already feeling, or rather,_ not _feeling the side effects. It was a weird sensation, to say the least. He practiced the Light Ritual enough to where his hands were still usable, though. He just had to keep a close watch on what he was doing with them. "It's fine. It just means I don't need to wear gloves in the cold."_

 _Allion chuckled. "Alright, so what do we do now? To be honest, I'm a little curious, so you better not mess this up."_

 _She was already warming up to it! This was going to be great!_

 _"Okay, first things first, we need to commemorate this day with a photo." Marco walked over to his chest and opened it. He pushed a bunch of stuff aside to get to the bottom, where his good old hoodie was folded nicely. He reached into the front pocket and pulled out his cell-phone. He held in the power button._

 _"What the hell is that?" Allion asked, looking over his shoulder at it._

 _"It's a phone. One of the few things I brought with me from Earth. It can't do much without Wi-Fi, but the camera still works."_

 _The screen flashed blue and the familiar logo appeared. Allion shifted behind him and he realized how crazy the technology must have been to someone who had never seen anything like it before._

 _Once the boot up was done, it took him 3 tries to unlock his phone by connecting those stupid dots. God, it was so hard to do with feeling-less hands!_

 _Marco looked at the top of the screen and sighed. Only 47% left. He needed to do this quick._

 _Without thinking, Marco wrapped his arm around Allion and gestured her to look at the phone._

 _"Say 'Merry Christmas!'"_

 _"What?"_

 _"Merry Christmas!" Marco said, and pushed the screen to take the picture._

 _After a bright flash, Allion punched him in the shoulder, and Marco dropped the phone to the ground. After a quick apology, Marco picked up his phone and looked at the results._

 _Hmm, it didn't turn out as nicely as he hoped. Marco looked fine, but Allion was flinching and blinking. There was also the fact that a selfie was probably too crude to work as a proper Christmas Portrait, but his parents would understand._

 _"Holy shit! Is that us?" Allion said._

 _"Yup," Marco said. "We call these 'photos'."_

 _"So, what to we do with it?"_

 _"Well, my Dad is a professional artist, so each year he gets everyone in front of the Christmas Tree to take a photo of us together. He then uses that photo as a reference to make a big painting. It's a Diaz tradition."_

 _Allion frowned. "But, you already have the photo. Why make a painting?"_

 _"Trust me, the paintings turn out great. I'll show you how ours turn out when I get back home. Whenever that is."_

 _"Uh, sure."_

 _Okay! So far so good! Marco turned off his phone and grabbed his to-do list for the perfect Christmas and read the next line. He made sure Allion wasn't looking over his shoulder this time. She always made fun of how crappy his Riradesh was._

 _Marco put the list down and and picked up the jar that was by his bunk. This was going to be so great, but he needed to be careful. He started carrying it over to the table._

 _"Marco, do you want me to-"_

 _"No thanks! I got this!" Marco said, watching his hands to make sure they were doing what he wanted._

 _Easy… easy…_

 _The jar escaped Marco's grasp and crashed against the ground._

 _Ceramic shattered and spread everywhere, and a dozen sugar cookies spread across the dirty floor._

 _Damnit! He'd worked so hard on those!_

 _"What are these?" Allion asked. She picked up a cookie and examined it. When she smelled it, her eyes lit up._

 _"It doesn't matter anymore," Marco said with a sigh. "They're dirty now. They're covered in germs."_

 _"Marco, you know I don't believe in your stupid Earth religion things," Allion said. She took a small lick of the corner of the cookie, and then apparently liked the taste enough to immediately shove the whole thing in her mouth._

 _She looked like she was in complete bliss as she chewed slowly and deliberately, savoring every second of the taste. Then, as soon as she swallowed, she reached down and grabbed another off the dirty floor._

 _"What are these and why am I about to steal the rest of them?" she asked, before shoving the cookie she'd just grabbed into her mouth._

 _"They're an Earth cuisine called 'cookies'," Marco said._

 _He was beaming. He hadn't been able to find most of the ingredients he'd needed, but he'd found close enough substitutes that it was actually pretty up in the air whether or not the cookies would turn out okay._

 _Apparently, they turned out just fine. And Allion was finally experiencing the magic of Christmas!_

 _"My mom and me would always make them together for Christmas. We would spend hours just slaving over a hot stove, and make two hundred and ten cookies so we could send some to every exchange student we'd ever had and then save a dozen for Santa, a dozen for the family, and then the rest would go to the local homeless shelter, so we'd be sharing the Christmas spirit with everyone!"_

 _Allion blinked. "I have no idea what half those words you just said mean."_

 _"It's okay. It was just this fun thing my family did for Christmas. If my mom was here, she'd be able to make the cookies into cool shapes, like trees and snowmen and reindeer."_

 _"Well, they can be in the shape of shit and I'd still eat them, so you don't have to worry about that." Allion said, licking the last of the sugar off her fingers._

 _Marco was happy things were going so smoothly. Now the next item on the agenda was…_

 _Right! The Star!_

 _Marco ran over to his chest again and grabbed the Christmas Star, which he had made out of old scraps of fabric and metal. He put his phone back into the hoodie pocket before he'd forget, and pulled The Star out for Allion to see._

 _"Oh my god, how many steps to this are there?" she said. "Even the blood mages take less time than this."_

 _Marco frowned. "There's only a few things left, I swear." Like, eight more things. Maybe nine._

 _Allion sighed. "Okay, so what are we doing with this thing, then?"_

 _Marco smiled and presented The Star to her. "Allion, would you do the honor of putting The Star on the tree?"_

 _Allion looked down at The Star like it was a bomb or something and then back up at Marco. "No. You do it."_

 _"But Ally, it's a Christmas tradition! We always used to let the exchange student for that year put The Star on the tree, to show how they're part of the family, and last Christmas it was really funny, cause Star was our exchange student, and when we told her what to do, she just jumped up and sat on the tree instead. It was really cute."_

 _Allion sighed. She took The Star from Marco and placed it on top of the tree. "There. Happy?" She still didn't seem to get it._

 _"Um… sure. Thanks," Marco said. "Alright, now we can open our presents. Who should go first?"_

 _"Go first? Why do we need to take turns?"_

 _"The best part of Christmas presents is seeing the reaction of the person opening the present you got them."_

 _Allion rolled her eyes. "Just open yours. I could care less."_

 _Marco noted Allion's lack of enthusiasm. "Okay then."_

 _He sat down next to the tree and put the box on his lap. Geez, this thing was actually pretty heavy. He wondered what was inside. There was no wrapping paper or fabric covering the box, so he just gently opened the top in anticipation._

 _"Oh! It's… a bunch of gold. Thanks… Allion."_

 _"Yeah, I didn't really know what I was supposed to get you, so I just got you the most valuable stuff I could find," she said with a shrug. Marco looked back down at the gold again and frowned._

 _"It's, uh, still bloody…"_

 _"Oh, don't worry. He was a horrible person," Allion said. "I know how you are about the killing thing, so I just did it for you."_

 _Oh god. "And you couldn't clean the blood off?"_

 _"What, do you want me to chew your food for you, too?"_

 _Marco frowned. He supposed it was kind of a thoughtful gift?_

 _At least she was trying to find something he could use, right?_

 _Marco took a deep breath. "Okay, your turn."_

 _Allion shrugged and grabbed her present from under the tree. "Why is it wrapped up in fabric?"_

 _"So you can't tell what it is, yet," Marco said. He hoped seeing her open the present would help get him back in the spirit, because he wasn't feeling it much right now._

 _"Uh, okay? Sure," she said. She started pulling the fabric off and then opened the box. "Uh, what is this?"_

 _"It's a sword," Marco said, feeling a little giddy again. He'd spent so long looking for the perfect longsword for her. It was well built, had fantastic balance, and it was pretty nice looking, too._

 _Allion examined the sword for a few seconds. "Okay." She handed it to him._

 _"No, you keep it," Marco said, thinking for a second that she was misconstruing the whole concept of gifts._

 _"I don't really want it. You can keep it," she said bluntly._

 _"Allion, you can use it to fight better up close," Marco said, feeling a little offended that she didn't even say thanks._

 _"I fight just fine with knives. You of all people should know this."_

 _"But the sword will give you a longer range-"_

 _"I throw the knives, too. It gives me all the range I need. If you thought my fighting style was shitty, you could've just said so to my face." She wasn't getting it._

 _"Look, can you just take the gift?" Marco said. The fact that he'd set all of this up for basically nothing was hitting him, and it was hitting him hard. The only thing Allion appreciated so far were the freaking cookies._

 _"And do what with it?" Allion asked._

 _"Use it! Hang it up! Give it to someone else! Throw it out! I don't care at this point!" he said. "Just take it, okay?"_

 _"If you had just asked me what I wanted, then we wouldn't be having this problem."_

 _"That's not the point!" Marco said. "It's supposed to be a surprise!"_

 _"That's so stupid!" Allion said, throwing the sword onto the ground. "Where's the sense in that?"_

 _"Would it kill you to at least acknowledge the amount I effort I put into this?" Marco said, dodging her question entirely._

 _"Why should I? Because we're guild partners? I don't owe you anything. In fact, this whole charade has been plain creepy."_

 _"And what's that supposed to mean?" He was just trying to show her the magic of Christmas!_

 _"Why are you trying to make me replace your family?" Allion said. "I am_ not _your family, I don't care about your stupid holidays, or your stupid Earth traditions! Your family's gone! You have to move on from them already!"_

 _"Move on? They're not dead, Allion!"_

 _"They might as well be!"_

 _Oh god._

 _He wasn't crying, he wasn't crying, he wasn't crying..._

 _Marco was already out the door before he realized he was running._

 _He ran through the guild hall, filled with the hustle and bustle of a hundred or so people who hated him, and ran right out the main entrance into the cold winter air._

 _It was snowing, and in the back of his head he was grateful that he always wore his snow shoes in the building, because without them he'd be sinking into the foot-deep whiteness that coated the ground as far as he could see. He didn't know where he was going, but it was far away from everything._

 _And then he slipped on some hidden ice and fell onto his back against the snow._

 _God damn it..._

 _Marco lifted himself onto his palms and stared up at the sky and breathed in the chilly air._

 _He relaxed his body to ignore the cold. Toza had taught him in the Forest that 'not giving a shit' could help the body withstand any amount of pain. Maybe that's why he rarely thought about how it's been an year since he left._

 _..._

 _Marco didn't want to think about Allion. He didn't want to think about Zonst, Heckapoo, or Christmas. And he certainly didn't want to think about his family. Marco just wanted to… stop thinking._

 _Heh, easier said than done._

 _Marco sighed, dreading the idea that Allion was telling all his other guildmates about what had happened. He already had a shitty reputation in Zonst. Everyone outperformed him in missions, Marco refused to kill anyone, and he was also a crazy person who insisted he was from another dimension._

 _Stop thinking, you idiot._

 _It wasn't like he blamed Allion for how she acted, either. In a vacuum, Christmas was really weird. It wouldn't surprise him if, from Allion's perspective, he was trying to get her to join a cult. And it was wrong of him to have such high expectations for her reaction. The fact that she humored him so far said a lot._

 _You're making it worse._

 _How could he even think about celebrating Christmas? His parents and Star were suffering every day and here was Marco, pretending he was on some cool vacation. Was it even remotely close to Christmas on Earth right now? No. It just started snowing in Zonst and you thought 'Hey! Christmas!' you stupid piece of-_

 _"Hey," Allion said._

 _Marco turned in surprise. He didn't even notice her coming towards him. She could have just assassinated him if she'd wanted._

 _"I brought you gloves," Allion stepped closer to him._

 _"The Light Ritual's side-effects are still on. I don't feel anything," Marco said, pulling his hand out of the snow._

 _"You'll get frostbite either way, you idiot."_

 _Oh. Right._

 _Allion sat beside Marco and gently took each of his hands to help put the gloves on. "So why are you sitting in the snow like this?"_

 _Marco thought about it for a second. "Back where I lived on Earth, it barely snowed, and I always hated it. I was raised on Christmas specials where you'd see kids playing in the snow, sledding and building snowmen. They even got to miss school because of snow. I was so jealous, because I could never experience that in Southern California. So… I don't know. I guess because it's so rare to me, I get a kick from just sitting here, staring at it. To me, it's beautiful."_

 _Once he finished, Allion chuckled to herself. "Holy shit. That is the sappiest shit I've ever heard in my life." She was grinning like a topennga._

 _Maroc turned red. "Come on, Ally, it's not that funny."_

 _"Oh, it's hilarious. Winter is the worst, Marco. It kills crops, makes trade more difficult, traps people in their homes, and makes everyday life a nightmare. Yet you somehow think it's beautiful."_

 _"Whatever." Marco didn't feel like arguing with her._

 _"Come on, don't be like that. I can at least understand your perspective, even if it seems messed up. Just like how I can kind of see the appeal of Christmas," Allion said. "Listen, I'm sorry for being a bitch back there. I forgot how sensitive you were."_

 _There she went again, spinning another apology into a backhanded insult. "Thanks."_

 _"I'm just trying to look out for you. Take it from someone who lost her parents a long time ago: It's best not to think about them. Going out of your way to remember something you can't go back to, you'll just end up miserable, you know?"_

 _"It wasn't supposed to be about them, though," Marco said._

 _Allion blinked. "What?"_

 _"Ally, you helped me so much since I joined this guild. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but you've been patient with me every step of the way. I'd be dead if it wasn't for you. Hell, you're the only one who actually believes I'm from another dimension. I just wanted to make it up to you somehow."_

 _"By giving me a sword I didn't need?"_

 _"By including you in something that makes me happy," Marco said._

 _"Oh," Allion said. She looked down at the snow. "Sorry I ruined it for you, then."_

 _"Well, I'm sorry I forced it on you," Marco said. "Next time I'll just celebrate it by myself,"_

 _"Why celebrate it at all now?" Allion said. "You've always done Christmas with your family. Won't you just get depressed again?"_

 _"Maybe, but I can't pretend they don't exist. They're still out there with Star looking for me, I can feel it. I'm not gonna give up on them. Sure, it's hard, but if I'm not constantly thinking about them, about how much I love them, am I really giving it my all? What other motivation would I have left for doing this?"_

 _"Marco…"_

 _Marco stood up. "I'm gonna beat this quest if it's the last thing I do. I'm… gonna see them again, and give back Star's scissors."_

 _"Heh."_

 _Marco looked down at Allion. "What is it?"_

 _Allion lifted herself off the ground. "It's just that, on certain rare occasions, you actually resemble a warrior. Maybe there's hope for you yet, Marco of Earth."_

 _"Really? Like, just a few seconds ago?" Marco stumbled a little._

 _"And he's gone. Now it's just the Marco who's self-conscious about everything and constantly seeks validation," Allion said, smiling._

 _Ugh, he fell for it again. "Anyway, what do you want to do now? Should I clean up the mess I made in our room?"_

 _Allion rubbed her chin. "Nah, I actually kind of like it. Let's keep it for a few days." Allion looked like she remembered something and took a small branch out of her pocket. "Oh, by the way, I found this on the floor. I wasn't sure if it was garbage or not."_

 _Mistletoe. Oh God…_

 _"Yeah, it was the last thing to hang up, but then you barged in before I got a chance." Marco really did have unrealistic expectations for how tonight would turn out._

 _"Sorry about that. To be fair, you did make me wait out there for like an hour."_

 _Marco laughed. "Okay, so I was a little bit insufferable tonight. I get it. How about I make it up to you by making another batch of cookies?"_

 _Allion lit up. "That was the sexiest thing you said all day, Marco." She raced past him to the building's door. "I'll grab some booze and meet you in a hour!"_

 _Marco smiled. "It's a date." He ran toward the town to fetch some ingredients. Hopefully O'dirr's was still open._

 _Marco made a mental note to save some cookies for Santa this time. He wasn't sure if Santa knew about Heckapoo's dimension, but the guy had to be somewhat familiar with magic if he was able to deliver all those presents in a single night. The eight reindeer schick seemed outdated._

 _Who knows, maybe he had his own pair of dimensional scissors?_

Marco lifted his head from his pillow. He turned to his right side where Kar'Margorach was waking up besides him, his large body practically taking up the rest of the King-sized bed. It'd been a while since he could be out in the open like that.

"Morning, Kar," Marco said.

" **Morning, Marco** ," Kar said.

"Did you… see that flashback too? The one with Allion?"

" **Where you make an ass of yourself with your crazy religious beliefs? Yeah I heard it all.** "

Christmas isn't that religious anymore, Kar. How did that even work, anyway? Kar was just a bunch of cells in the flashbacks that far back. How did he even experience them?

" **Yeah, it's weird. Somehow our psychic bond is still intact during flashbacks, so I can read your thoughts from back then, even as cells, and I can process what's physically going on around you**."

"Yeah, that is really weird."

" **It's not too bad though, it's cool to get to see what Allion was all about. It's too bad she died. I feel like the two of us would've gotten along famously.** "

Marco smiled. He'd be in deep trouble if he'd had Kar _and_ Allion to mess with him. "Yeah, I wish you two could have meet each other."

" **You've been having a lot flashbacks about her. You alright? Wanna talk about it?** "

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, I haven't thought about her in years, and now that I have access to all these memories, I'm remembering how much she meant to me back then."

" **If she was here right now, you know what she'd say?** "

A million ideas raced through his head. She'd tell him to get off his ass and start adventuring again. She'd tell him she was sorry for everything. She'd tell him she loved him. But Marco had no idea what Kar thought, so instead he said, "What?"

" **She'd talk about how you need to stop obsessing over her. She'd say you need to move on with your life and focus on the people that are alive. You worked so hard to come back to Earth, and now you need to work on staying there.** "

Oh. Yeah, she would say that.

Marco looked at the tall ceiling of the guest room and sighed.

Allion, er, Kar was right.

" **But… then she'd remember who she's talking to: Marco Diaz, the man who never forgets. The man with a tattoo with the names of all the people he's lost on it. The man who went on an insane quest for a decade and a half to return to his friends and family. Marco the Memory-bound."**

Marco wasn't sure if that was an insult or a compliment.

 **"It wasn't either. It was a fact."**

Well, he wasn't wrong.

Marco sat up and looked out the window. The darkness of the Mewni slums was only illuminated by a few scattered lanterns, freshly lit by the early-rising shopowners and the illegal dealers of the town. It was early, long before dawn, but still the morning hours.

"We should probably get some sleep. There's a lot to do tomorrow."

" **Just one more thing."**

"What is it?"

" **Even though I can read you mind and everything, I thought I'd be a little more formal. What do you want for Christmas?** "

"Kar. It's spring."


	23. Chapter 23: Liar

**Disclaimer: This chapter happens after Chapter 21, not our Christmas special. Just putting that out there so no one gets confused. Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _'Look where your fucking optimism got us, Diaz,_** ' Kar thought.

Marco ignored Kar as he made his way through the warzone that was once his living room. He was trying to find a chair under all the rubble, like everyone else.

 _'Well, I didn't expect them to open fire before we could even explain ourselves…'_ Marco thought. He noticed a knocked-over bar stool next to pieces of shattered window. His mom was sweeping the pieces into a dustpan.

 ** _'Marco, have we_** _ever_ _ **introduced me without someone trying to kill us?'**_

 _'Yes. Last night. With Jackie and Star. That's kind of why I was optimistic.'_

Marco looked over and saw that Star's parents had already found two seats and were quietly waiting. Queen Moon kept trying to sneak some stares at Kar without being noticed, while King River rocked on his chair back and forth like an impatient child.

 ** _'We're lucky Star was there to stop them. We wouldn't have stood a chance in our younger bodies. They were seriously going to kill me.'_**

 _'I know…_ ' Marco looked away from the various wounds on Kar's body. He felt stupid for thinking the 'nonchalantly introducing my demon arm' method would work. If anything, it only made him look possessed. King River shoving his hand in Marco's mouth during their confrontation made a little more sense now that he thought about it.

Queen Moon turned towards Marco's parents and broke the awkward silence that was dominating the room. "I'm... terribly sorry about the mess. I'll make sure to send some servants to clean it up once we get back to Mewni. You don't need to trouble yourselves."

"O-oh, it's no problem," Marco's dad said, picking up a picture frame. "This is nothing too unusual. It's not like this is the first time the living room has been destroyed." He chuckled.

Queen Moon gave Star a look, who quickly turned away to clean up more debris. Marco did remember the numerous times her spells caused collateral damage to his home. Hell, just a few nights ago the damn place was on fire, but that was more Tom's fault than anything.

"Although we _will_ take you up on that offer," Marco's mom said. "I guess once the broken glass is put away, we can stop cleaning and sit down to talk about Marco's problem like adults." She winked at her son. Hah.

King River got up from his chair. "Well, in that case, I'm gonna head to the kitchen for a quick breakfast before we start. I'm positively famished after that grueling journey." He walked to the other side the living room, stepping on broken shards of glass as if trying to avoid them took too much effort. The Queen held her head in embarrassment.

Marco groaned. ' _I can't believe it. One minute they try to kill us and the next they act like nothing happened. They're not even helping to clean this up, just offering to let someone else do the work for them. And then they take our food without asking._ '

 ** _'Did you expect anything more from royalty?'_** Kar stretched himself across the room and picked up a vase and placed it gently on the mantle.

Marco saw Star helping his dad with the garbage bags. ' _I guess I expected more from her folks. My parents must have rubbed off on Star a little. Her dad has the mind of a savage and her Mom's just another pampered royal. She's nothing like them.'_

 ** _'I wouldn't say that. Moon's been watching me since the fight, and she might be sitting down, but she's ready to hop right back in and kill me. She's just waiting for the moment I reveal my true nature and attempt to bite your head off, which I honestly wouldn't mind doing right now. I always wondered if there was a brain in there.'_**

Marco sighed. _'I get it. I should have taken Star's concern over her parents more seriously, and I put you in danger because of my recklessness. I'm sorry.'_

 ** _'Hmph. Whatever. I'm going back inside.'_**

"Wait! You're leaving me here? Just like that?" Everyone in the room looked over at Marco.

Kar grinned at him. " **Yeah. I'm taking a nap. Enjoy your awkward conversion. I know you'll mess it up."** Kar's body started to shrink. **"I believe in you,"** he said, and the purple of his body faded away completely as Marco's right arm returned to normal.

Okay, so not _exactly_ normal. Pain shot up through Marco's arm. The wounds Kar took were Marco's now, and the pain from those wounds had transferred over to him as well. _Fantastic_.

"Marco! Are you okay?" Star asked.

"Yeah," Marco gripped his arm. "Don't worry about it. Kar does this to me every time I drag him into an unnecessary battle. I kinda deserve it." Marco tried examining his wounds, but since his suit's right sleeve was tailor-made for Kar's large body, it was too big and getting in the way.

Star took out her wand. "Do you want me to readjust the suit?"

"Nah. Suits aren't very comfortable anyway. I'll just go shirtless." Marco removed his suit jacket and unbuttoned the shirt underneath. Or what was left of it. Then he wrapped the shirt tight around his wounded arm, in case it started to bleed.

Star gasped and whispered into Marco's ear, "What are you doing? You can't go up to my mom half-naked like that!"

Marco whispered, "Star, your dad's wearing nothing but a loincloth."

Her jaw snapped shut. Yeah, Star wasn't going to win this argument. Plus, Marco preferred being shirtless. It didn't take him long in Heckapoo's dimension to realize just how inconvenient those damn hoodies were.

"Is your arm going to be alright?" his dad asked. "King River _did_ bite pretty hard on Kar'Margorach. It might be infected."

"Don't worry about it." Marco turned to his parents. "Remember what Dr. Singer said? Kar can take care of anything bad in my arm. The only thing we need to do is let it heal naturally."

"Wait…" Queen Moon frowned. "Exactly how long have you had that thing? Have you been keeping it around as a pet?"

"Excuse me? Kar isn't a _pet_ ," Marco said.

"I'm sorry," Moon said unapologetically. "What would you prefer I call it? A misfired spell?"

 ** _'I wouldn't say it was a misfire,'_** Kar thought. **_'That spell did exactly what it was supposed to do.'_**

 _'I thought you were taking a nap.'_ Marco thought.

 ** _'Yeah, there was no way I was gonna miss this trainwreck in slow motion. I just didn't wanna be in the spotlight.'_**

Marco frowned. _'Whatever, chicken-shit.'_

Marco turned back to Moon "I'd prefer you call _him_ by his name,"

"I fail to see why you named a contamination like that."

" _He_ named _himself_ , and he isn't a mistake or a disease. He is a sentient and offended person who's saved my life more times than I can count."

 ** _'I'm not offended. She hasn't said anything I haven't heard before.'_**

 _'Shut up, I'm making a point.'_

"Yeah, Marco and Kar are partners in crime!" Star said.

Instead of actually responding to them, Moon turned to Star and said, "Star, why didn't you come straight to me when this happened? You were so ashamed of getting a spell wrong that you went to an Earth doctor to fix it instead of me?"

"Actually, we went to the doctor because Marco passed out," Marco's mom said. "He happened to find out about Kar'Margorach after some tests he ran."

"Also, if I'm remembering correctly-" and if Kar wasn't talking out his ass- "Star didn't mess any spell up. She just casted the _wrong_ spell."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Moon asked.

"I'm just saying Star cast the spell exactly the way she was supposed to, it was just explained terribly in the book."

"Is this true, Star?" Moon said.

"Yeah, Marco broke his arm and I was looking for a spell to heal it, and the spell _did_ fix it, but it also gave him Kar'Mariachi."

"I highly doubt something like that would be in the Book of Spells," Moon said. "You most likely pronounced it wrong." Wow, she really was trying to prove that her daughter was a fuck-up.

"Actually, that spell _was_ there," Star said. "It had really misleading wording, and it just had the bad side effects in teenie tiny text. I followed it word-for-word though, I swear."

"That's impossible," Moon said, like Star hadn't said anything of worth. "That spell clearly has demonic origins. Why would it be in the book?"

"Wasn't that book written by generations of moody teenagers?" Marco said. "Who _hasn't_ dabbled in dark magic in their youth?" Hell, even up into his late twenties he'd made more than a few demonic slip-ups, and _he_ wasn't given some all-powerful wand as soon as he hit puberty.

Moon looked like she had a response, but it got caught in her throat.

"Marco has a point, Mom," Star said. "I mean, there are some really sketchy spells in that book. Is a demon curse that farfetched? What if one of the past queens dated a Lucitor like I did?"

Moon glared at Star, who flinched in response. "The only 'sketchy' spells would be the ones in the forbidden chapter. Nowhere else."

What?

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Marco said, trying to wrap his head around such a ridiculous concept. "You're telling me that there's a 'forbidden chapter' in that book, which I assuming contains _really_ dangerous magic, and you left it on the lap of a curious teenage girl?"

Moon's eye twitched. Marco was bringing up good points, but she still looked at him like a child who didn't know better.

She was more condescending than Singer.

"I don't see how this any of this your business, Marco, but that particular chapter is sealed with powerful magic. Glossaryck is the only being who can unlock those pages."

"Oh, well, I guess it's a good thing that both Glossaryck and the book were stolen by the same person. I'm sure that will end well. Great security measure," Marco said.

 ** _'Tone it down, Marco.'_**

 _'Make me.'_

Moon got up from her chair, and opened her mouth to reply, but then River walked in with a tall pile of meat on a silver plate and interrupted her.

"Alright everyone! I brought breakfast! Who wants some!"

"Me!" Marco's dad said, probably desperate to change the subject. River threw him a gigantic drumstick. He caught it, but it knocked him onto his ass.

"Where did you get that from?" Marco's mom asked. "I don't think there's even enough room in our fridge for all that."

"Oh! I just popped over to _our_ kitchen and picked it up!" River said, tossing another drumstick to her. She squeaked and dodged it. "Oh yes, that reminds me. Marco! Catch!"

River held up Marco's scissors and threw them at him. He caught them and put them into his pocket. He had forgotten Star gave them to River while he'd been unconscious.

"What was that?" Moon said, looking between River and Marco.

Completely ignoring her question, River said, "I see your arm is back to normal. Shame. It was right fun tasseling with that freaky monster thing!"

 _"Am I a freak?" Katriena asked. In the darkness, he could see her beady eyes looking up at Marco, or at least most of them._

 _Marco didn't know how to tell her that, to the rest of the world, she was._

 ** _"Hey, am_** _I_ _ **a freak?"**_ _Kar asked. He wrapped around her, and wiggled under her top left leg. She burst into giggles and tried to get away from him by running around Marco's legs._

 _"Nooooo, stooop!" she said between her laughs. Kar pulled back and smiled down at her._

 ** _"If I'm not a freak, you're_** _definitely_ _ **not a freak."**_

 _Katriena looked down at the ground and frowned. "But, the arrow man called me a freak…"_

 _"The arrow men call everyone a freak. Don't let it bother you," Marco said. "Once we get out of here, they won't even be there to call you anything."_

 _"Okay!" The legs on her head twitched in excitement. "When are we going?"_

 _They still had three more targets..._

 ** _"We'll be out of here soon, Spider Child. And then we can-"_**

...

"What in the world was that?" River said, ripping a chunk of meat off a rack of ribs.

Marco blinked a few times and looked around the room. Star was slowly lowering her wand, and everyone else was watching him with wide eyes.

"Uh, sorry about that," Marco said.

 ** _'Damn, once we get the ones I like, we can't actually finish them,'_** Kar thought.

 _'I don't think you actually wanted to see the end of that one, Kar.'_

 ** _'Yeah… you're right.'_**

"See, _this_ is the spell I need your help with, not Kar," Star said.

"What even is this?" Moon asked.

"Flashbacks," Marco said. River's eyes went wide, but Moon just raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Really?" she said.

"Yeah, Star wanted to help me remember Earth's culture after I beat Heckapoo's quest, but her spell went a little overboard."

Moon frowned. "What kind of story is that?"

Marco blinked. "Well, I was thinking of putting a 'once upon a time' in there, but it didn't really fit," he said, probably a little too hostile.

"No, I mean you should tell the truth. If we're going to fix the spell, I have to know everything and how it _actually_ happened," Moon said.

Marco's eye twitched. "Are you insinuating that I'm lying to you?"

"Heckapoo doesn't offer quests to humans. Next time you want to put yourself on a pedestal, I suggest doing some research first."

Marco was so going to punch that cocky smile off her dainty little queen face.

 ** _'Don't do it, Marco. She-'_**

 _'I don't care who she is.'_

"With all due _respect_ , Moon," Marco said, spitting out the word 'respect', "Heckapoo offers quests to whoever the _fuck_ she wants, and one of those people _happened_ to be me."

"You can't possibly be serious. Am I supposed to believe a mere child-"

"Mom!" Star said. "He's telling the truth."

"Star, not you too. You can't believe everything people tell you."

"He isn't lying, Queen Moon," Marco's dad said. "He really went through that quest thing."

"We can tell that our own son grew up," his mom said. "You may not have spoken to Marco much before, but you have to admit how different he is now."

"I sincerely doubt this boy could come even close to finishing a Heckapoo Quest without dying. Great warriors take on the quest only when their bodies are at peak physique, well into their twenties, and most of them _still_ don't make it."

"I didn't say it was easy!" Marco said.

"What would even possess Marco to take on such a task? Star found a pair of scissors, he could just use those," Moon said, to all the people backing Marco up, and not to Marco himself.

"Those scissors I had weren't mine. They were stolen, Mom," Star said. "I mean, I didn't know that at the time, but that's why Heckapoo went up to Marco when he borrowed them. He did that whole quest to get a new pair for me."

River clasped his hands together. "Awe! How adorable! Reminds me of when I was a kid!"

"It's my fault Marco went on the quest," Star said.

"No, it's not," Marco said. "I _chose_ to go on the quest. I wanted to prove myself, I wanted to beat her at her own game. And I _succeeded."_

Moon didn't say anything, but looked wholly unconvinced.

"Mom! He has a new pair of scissors now, see?" Star said, reaching into Marco's pocket with the grace of a handless pickpocket and pulling out the scissors to show her mom.

"Star, there are countless counterfeits in the Mewni Black Market-"

"Counterfeit?" Marco said, standing and clenching his fists. "You think I went to a shady underground market and bought a piece of shit pair of scissors just so I could impress Star?"

"It's not a very uncommon event," Moon said, not even reacting to Marco's anger. "I wouldn't be surprised if Star's pair was hidden in his room right now."

Marco's parents gasped and a speechless silence fell across the room.

"Yeah, you know, I think you're right," Marco said bitterly. "I _definitely_ just made the whole thing up. I made up the quest, I made up the deaths, I made up the mistakes, the whole thing!"

"Marco-"

"I never actually went through any of it! It was all just a bad dream! I wanted some sympathy so I made up holding my fiancé in my arms as she bled out onto a cold stone floor! I wanted some pride, so I made up fighting to save starving families from bandits and murderers! I wanted some intrigue, so I made up going back _over and over and over again_ , losing more of myself each time, trying to stop millions of deaths! I wanted to impress Star, so I made up the grueling pain I went through, the whole lifetime I spent, trying to get those stupid _counterfeit scissors_!"

Marco snatched the scissors from Star's hand.

 ** _'Marco, what the fuck-'_**

"Look at these lies!" Marco said, before cutting through the air beneath him and falling through to another dimension.

Marco fell onto a hard ground, and the portal closed above him. He took a moment to dust himself off and look around at the barren plateau. He'd wanted to get the hell away from everyone, and the scissors definitely listened. A purple ocean splashed against the sides of the plateau and a couple of birds flew ahead that looked like they were made of glass.

And then a fist collided with Marco's face and knocked him back to the ground.

Marco's fist.

"What the fuck, Kar!"

 **"No, what the fuck,** ** _you_** **!"** Kar said, reforming to his full stature. **"That was** ** _the worst_** **first impression you could have given!"**

"What, did you want me to suck up and let her walk all over me?" Marco said.

 **"Yes!"** Kar said, loud enough that it echoed across the ocean. **"We can't go the rest of our life worried about passing out randomly! She was going to fix us!"**

Kar wrapped around Marco's leg and started squeezing. _Hard._ Marco started punching Kar with his free hand.

 **"But** ** _no_** **! Your constant need to be validated got in the way** ** _yet again_** **and we're back at square one!"**

"Fuck you, Kar!" Marco punched at one of the almost-healed bite wounds on Kar's side, and he hissed in pain. "Do you know how humiliating it is to be treated like a goddamn kid all the time?"

 **"Do** ** _you_** **know what it's like to be treated like a disease? A scourge on humanity?"** There was a crack from where Kar was wrapped around his leg. **"I always have to take it in strides but as soon as your** ** _precious_** **pride is on the line, it's all hands on deck!"**

Marco bit down on one of the wounds River had left and Kar let go, yelping in pain.

 **"I get that you want them to respect you, but you have to fucking chill!"** Kar said, falling to the side in defeat.

Marco laid his head back against the ground and groaned.

Then, he punched the ground with his free hand.

"Ugh, I'm such a fucking idiot!"

 **"You said it, not me."**

They both laughed a little.

 **"You really gotta control your temper, dude."**

"Yeah, I'm kind of an egomaniac. Sorry."

 **"I mean, besides that, you're practically perfect, so…"**

"Ha, funny," Marco said, looking up at the orange-tinted sky. "God, I fucked up bad."

 **"Yeah, you did. You wanna go back and apologise?"**

"No," Marco said. "I mean, yes, but not yet. I'll just get pissed again. I need a break."

 **"Well we can't stay here. If we pass out, who knows what creature will come and eat us. We're pretty vulnerable without Star there to wake us up."**

Marco smiled. "I have an idea," he said, before getting up and opening a portal with the scissors.

They stepped through into the busy streets of Echo Creek.

A car screeched to a halt. Everyone turned to face Marco, the shirtless kid with a giant purple tentacle arm, and stared.

 **"Well, this oughta be interesting."**


	24. Chapter 24: Marco, Earth Extraordinaire

A crowd formed as people walked over from where they were, leaving shops and cars and their belongings unattended to get closer to the freak show that had just appeared in the city square.

 ** _'What the hell are you thinking?'_ **Kar asked, nervously coiling up as the crowd grew nearer.

 _'I'm thinking that if we pass out here, people will bring us to the hospital and then Star can get to us and wake us up,'_ Marco thought. _'That makes this the only dimension safe for us to wander in.'_

 ** _'Oh my fucking god, did it not cross your hair-brained mind that these people have never seen a monster before?'_**

 _'Yeah, it may have crossed my mind.'_

 ** _'And you brought us here anyway?'_**

People started pulling their phones out of their pockets and aiming them at Kar and Marco.

 ** _'Great. Now they've got weapons.'_**

 _'Those are just phones, Kar,'_ Marco thought. He smiled and waved at the crowd. They all started tapping their phones, and there were a few flashes of light. So far everything was going about how he expected it to.

 ** _'Was this really your plan? I thought you stopped gambling after Juridinn.'_**

 _'This isn't a gamble. I know what I'm doing, Kar.'_

A kid- no, wait, someone around his age- came up to him and held a phone close to his chest.

"Hey, can I take a selfie with you?" he asked excitedly.

Marco smiled and said, "Yeah, sure."

The kid got between Marco and Kar and held his phone out. He pressed the screen and took a photo. Then, he said, "Thanks!" and walked away.

Around them, Marco could hear ramblings about "publicity stunts", "conventions", and "movies". A few more people took pictures, and a few just kind of looked at them like they were trying to figure out how Kar worked.

It couldn't have lasted for more than a few minutes, but the entire time, Kar had a look of utter confusion on him. Something like this had never happened before when he was in public.

Then the crowd started dispersing as people lost interest, eventually dwindling down to no one.

The streets were back to their regular hustle and bustle and it was like Marco and Kar had never appeared in the first place. They were just a part of the crowd now.

 ** _'What the_** _fuck **was that?'**_ Kar asked.

Marco laughed nervously and let out his held breath. "People here never have to worry about danger, so when they see something new, like a kid with a tentacle arm, it's exciting for them. They don't really have a reason to assume we're here to hurt them."

 **"So, if we _were_ here to hurt them-"**

"They'd be totally defenseless and probably die, yeah." Most humans wouldn't be able to handle the things that Heckapoo's dimension threw at Marco and Kar. None of them were trained to deal with the craziness of the wider multiverse. If Marco had not went on dozens of adventures with Star prior to his quest, he probably wouldn't have lasted long. That exposure to otherworldly dangers kept him on his toes.

 **"That's all the more reason for them to be scared of me. Like, come on."**

"You'd be surprised Kar. Don't forget that Star has lived here for the better part of a year. Most of the people have already seen her magic in some form or another, and they're used to it by now. We fought monsters in public all the time, and as long as we weren't destroying property, no one batted an eye. They just don't care." People like Dr. Singer were the exception, not the rule.

Kar huffed. **"Is this all some elaborate prank you're pulling?"**

"I don't even know how you think I would orchestrate anything that big. This is the real deal. Would you seriously prefer it if these people were pointing pitchforks at us and chasing us out of town?" Marco said.

 **"No. I just expect them to."**

"I told you living on Earth wouldn't be so bad," Marco said.

Kar frowned and looked around at the people who'd stopped paying attention to them.

 **"Huh. Maybe you can be right about things after all,"** Kar said.

Marco smiled and then took a better look at their surroundings. The streets were filled with mostly adults and small children. It was probably a school day, and the few older kids he saw were skipping for one reason or another.

The sun high in the sky meant that it was midday, so all the shops were open and would remain open for quite some time, not that Marco had much money to spend in them anyway.

Right. If he was going to avoid his and Star's family for awhile, he'd might as well spend the time learning some of Earth's culture again.

 **"You're fucking ridiculous,"** Kar said. **"You don't even know how to read. How are you supposed to find your way around?"**

"Like this," Marco said, before stopping a man passing by. "Excuse me."

The man looked over at him and Kar and said, "What do you want?"

"What does that say?" Marco asked, pointing to a sign above a shop entrance.

"It says Touchstone Ice Cream. What are you, stupid?" the man said. He walked away before Marco could say anything in response, but he'd gotten all he needed.

 **"He called you stupid,"** Kar said.

"Yeah, well I can't read the native tongue. I pretty much am stupid here."

A glint of sunlight hit something on the ground and caught Marco's eye. He picked up a coin, value unknown, with a face on one side and a bird on the other.

"Perfect! Let's go see how much this is worth!" Marco said, heading into the ice cream shop.

 **"Marco, I doubt it's worth anything. People don't just leave valuable money on the ground."**

"Yeah, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?" The door to the shop swung open and Marco took a deep breath, taking in the crisp, cold, sweet smell. He made no detours and went straight up to the clerk.

"Hello, how can I help you?" the man said, with a little apprehension, but not nearly as much as Marco expected. Marco placed the coin on the table.

"How much ice cream can I get for this?" he asked.

The man looked down at the coin and laughed. "Maybe a spoonful," he said, probably joking.

"I'll take it," Marco said, with all the seriousness in the world.

"Really?" the man asked, lifting an eyebrow at Marco.

"Absolutely, I haven't had ice cream in years. I forget what it tastes like." He remembered that it tasted _good,_ though.

The man looked Marco over a couple times and sighed. "Okay, keep the quarter." He handed the coin back to Marco and grabbed a cup off of a stack of them. "What flavor do you want?"

Marco smiled wide and pointed down at the white tub of ice cream. "That one." He remembered that the white ice cream was his favorite, but couldn't remember the name of it for the life of him.

"Vanilla? Got it." The man scooped piles of it into the cup.

Right, so that was what it was called. Marco would have to remember that.

 **"So what the hell is this crap, anyway?"** Kar asked, eyeing the buckets under the table.

"It's that thing that I spent five months on a fix trying to figure out how to make," Marco said. "It's a delicacy that tastes like angels and sugar." Hopefully. His mind had a way of romanticizing foods after he hadn't had them in a while.

The man handed the cup to Marco and smiled. "Don't forget your spoon," he said, pointing at a taller cup with a bunch of utensils poking out of it.

Marco put the cup down on the counter and grabbed a spoon. He held the side of the cup still with his pointer finger and palm and scooped a small bite onto the spoon with his free fingers. The man on the other side of the counter watched in rapt attention, like he'd never seen someone eat one handed before.

Marco put the ice cream into his mouth and hummed in delight as it melted across his tongue. The sweet creamy taste was incredible, and Marco closed his eyes to just taste it before it was all gone.

 **"Holy shit…"** Kar said. Marco opened his eyes and looked over at Kar. It might have been a little rude to eat the ice cream without offering him any.

"Go ahead and take a bite," Marco said.

Kar took no time to consider it, and took a sizeable bite off the ice cream. He followed how Marco had eaten it, and then said, **"What kind of magic is this?"**

"The magic of chemistry," the man said.

 **"Well, we need more."**

"We're not about to steal a bunch of ice cream from this store, Kar. We'd have to pay for it."

 **"Well, let's go get some money, then!"** Kar said like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"We should really be heading back to Star and my family…" Marco said.

 **"They can wait. I finally found something in this dimension that isn't awful. Don't take this away from me, Marco."**

Marco rolled his eyes. He supposed they could kill about an hour or so on this little side mission. Kar kind of deserved it after almost getting killed by Star's mom. Plus he looked so happy eating that ice cream.

 **"That's the spirit! Now come on! Let's get some cash!"** Kar dragged Marco out of the store.

The two were outside again. They had one hour to gain enough money to score Kar some Ice Cream. Time was of the essence.

Marco took the coin out of his pocket, which apparently was called a quarter. Based on what the ice cream clerk said, each quarter equates to about one spoonful of ice cream. There was a good chance he was only joking, but it most likely was somewhat accurate. How many spoonfuls worth of ice cream were in that cup he gave them? How many more quarters did they need?

 **"You are over thinking this like always. We don't need an exact amount. It's okay if we go over."**

"Um, right. But is it that easy to make money here?" Marco was always under the impression that in Earth, the more education you had, the more money you made, and Marco didn't even have a High School education. As he looked at the all the little shops around him, he noticed all of them seemed to be run by adults. Not a single apprentice in his age range was in sight.

 **"We don't need careers, we just need short-term jobs with immediate pay. Let's go look for a Quest Board. I'm sure there's some newbie serial killer we can apprehend on our own, even in our weaker bodies."**

"I guess…" Did Earth even have Quest Boards?

The same man that Marco asked about the ice cream shop sign walked by again, carrying some bags with him. Kar got in the gentleman's way and gave off a menacing aura. The tip of Kar's body grabbed the man's shirt.

 **"Hey you! Point us to the nearest Quest Board! And you better not be condescending about it this time! We're fucking new here!"**

"Q-quest Board?" The man looked like he was about to shit himself. Some pedestrians stopped to see what the commotion was about.

"Um… Kar, please let go of the guy. You're gonna cause a scene." Who was Marco kidding? This was already a huge scene.

 **"Not until he apologizes for calling you stupid earlier."**

"Can you please control your snake?" the man asked nervously.

Marco pinched Kar's bite wound and Kar screeched. The man was able to squirm his way out of Kar's grip. He picked his bags off the ground and ran for it. There were still people staring at them.

 ** _'Why did you do that? I had the situation under control. I wasn't actually going to hurt the guy.'_ **Kar thought.

 _'That's not the point! If that went any further than it did, if he had shouted for help, we could've been in a lot of trouble!'_

 **'Marco, if you think we can't take the cops-'**

 _'Kar, it's not whether or not we can take them. We should try our best not to end up on the city's Most Wanted List. We live here now.'_

 ** _'Pfft, since when did you of all people start caring about abiding by a place's laws?'_**

 _'When I was a kid living on Earth, which I happen to be now.'_

Kar didn't have anything to say, or to think, in response.

 _'We can't be as loose as we were in Heckapoo's dimension. There, it wasn't a big deal because we were never in a single village or city for more than a few days. We need to be more conscious of our actions here. I don't want to be forced to leave anytime soon.'_

 ** _'Fine. I get it. So on Earth we're not allowed to threaten people? Even if they're assholes?'_**

 _'More or less,'_ Marco thought, although maybe he should be specifying Echo Creek. There were probably rougher Earth cultures out there.

 ** _'Alright. I'm sorry I got aggressive back there. That guy just ticked me off when he insulted you.'_ **Oh, so that was it.

 _'But you insult me all the time.''_

 ** _'Yes and I got very territorial when he did the same. Like, who the fuck does he think he is, stealing my shtick.'_**

Marco laughed. "Yeah I'm sure that's what it was."

Kar was about to laugh as well, but something stopped him.

"What's wrong? Is that guy still nearby?" Marco looked to his right to see if the man had returned with the authorities, but he noticed Kar wasn't looking into that direction. He was facing the street.

 ** _'We're being watched,'_** Kar thought.

Marco looked ahead. Of course _some_ people would stop to stare at them, but the tone in Kar's voice suggested a threat. The traffic was too brisk for it to be someone in a vehicle, and no one on the other side of the street had noticed them yet.

 ** _'You don't feel it?'_**

Marco had fought enough assassins to know what it was like being watched, but he couldn't sense a presence of that nature. _'Are you sure you aren't just being paranoid?'_ It was reasonable Kar would be jittery in public setting like this.

 ** _'No. I'm sure of it. I sensed the same thing yesterday.'_**

 _'What? Really? Why didn't you mention it before?'_

Kar frowned. **_'It was in the room with Dr. Singer. I had just reformed, so I chalked it up to my headache, but that obviously isn't the case. I think someone's been keeping an eye on us.'_**

 _'Using magic,'_ Marco guessed. It was a little odd that Kar could sense it, but it might just be the fact that there was barely any magic on earth at all, so it probably stood out.

 ** _'Either way, we have someone following us. What's the plan?'_**

 _'We go get some money for ice cream. We can't let them know that we're aware.'_ They just had to act like nothing had changed.

Kar turned away from the street. **_'I'll keep my guard up. And let you know if anything changes.'_**

Marco nodded. He wasn't sure what was going on. He would have suspected Queen Moon, but someone had apparently been watching them since yesterday. Was it Heckapoo? Nah, this was too subtle to be her work.

There were about three rituals Marco could use right now to expose this magic, but all of their side effects were too shitty to be worth it. If all this person did was passively observe them, it'd be fine. They were only going to witness Marco embarrass himself further. He sincerely hoped they enjoyed the show.

 **"And it's gone,"** Kar said.

Marco frowned. "What?"

 **"I don't sense anything anymore."**

"You've gotta be kidding me. What the hell are they up to?" Had it just been a sort of location spell? Was there a time limit? Was the spellcaster interrupted? Killed?

 **"No use squabbling about it. Let's just go back to getting the goddamn money. I'm not giving up ice cream for a mediocre assassin."**

Kar was right. They had to find the Quest Board still, though. If there even were Quest Boards in Echo Creek. Marco tried recalling _anything_ similar to one there.

"The park," Marco said. "I remember a bulletin board in the middle of the park. There could be work for us there."

 ** _"We just need to find the park, then,"_ **Kar said.

Without warning, Kar moved in front of another passerby. It was an older man. He adjusted his glasses to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. Once he confirmed the man in his way was a giant tentacle, his eyes widened.

 **"Excuse me, sir. Hate to bother you, but my partner and I are in a hurry. We need to find the local park. Could you tell us where it is? I'd understand if you don't want to. We won't hurt you either way."**

Marco rolled his eyes. Kar could get pretty passive aggressive sometimes, but Marco was happy this time wasn't going to get them almost killed.

"Oh! Uh…" The man seemed to take a moment to let it sink in that a tentacle just asked him for directions, and then he pointed down the street. "Right around the corner down that way."

"Thanks," Marco said.

 **"Thank you kindly, young gentleman,"** Kar said, really overdoing the polite act. God, that was annoying.

The two made it to the park without much issue. The park was filled with people. Parents playing with their toddlers, old folks feeding the birds, and young adults walking their dogs. It was so peaceful.

 **"How does anything ever get done in this dimension with so many people screwing around?"** Kar said. **"And why are there so many old people here? You'd think Survival of the Fittest would've done them in by now."**

In Hekapoo's dimension, there was a much lower life expectancy. Barely anyone made it past forty.

"A lot of people get one or two days off a week to relax, Kar," Marco said. "As for the old people, I think after a certain age they don't need to work anymore and the government pays for their stuff."

 **"What kind of government has the money to just throw away like that?"** Kar asked.

"The big kind," Marco said. He didn't remember too much about the government here, but it was probably a lot bigger than even Mirria's infrastructure.

 **"Wait, is that the Quest Board down there?"** Kar said, not waiting for an answer and just pulling Marco toward the board near a few of the benches.

And then they were standing in front of what was definitely a Quest Board, riddled with papers describing potential quests for hire.

Or at least he hoped so. Somehow he'd forgotten that he wouldn't be able to actually read any of the requests.

"Fuck," Marco said. So much for that plan. Now he needed to find someone to translate this gibberish.

"You shouldn't swear, Mister. It's not nice."

Marco turned and noticed a little boy holding a piece of paper. He couldn't have been older than four.

Kar tapped on the boy's shoulder lightly as to not startle him. He was always delicate with children. **"Hey kid, is that a quest you have there?"**

The boy looked at Kar indifferently and nodded. "This is the missing poster for my cat, Fluffy. He ran away and I'm trying to find him."

"You got a reward for finding him?" Marco asked, without skipping a beat. The kid nodded and pulled a tiny pile of crumpled green paper from his pocket.

"I saved up my allowance. Its seven dollars!"

 **"Is that enough to buy an ice cream with?"** Kar asked.

"I think so…" the kid said, looking through the papers. Then, he looked back up at Marco and Kar. "You can find Fluffy, right?"

"We'll find him," Marco said. "Do you have anything that's his?"

The boy's eyes lit up and he dug through his pockets excitedly. Then, he pulled out a small bright cloth toy, with a string coming out the end. "This is his favorite toy! It's got catnip in it, so I've been trying to get him to smell it and come back!"

Marco held his hand out for the toy and smiled wide. "I can use it to track Fluffy down."

The boy gave it to Marco without a second thought and jumped up and down in excitement. He honestly looked like he was going to cry, and Marco briefly wondered how long he'd been looking for his cat.

 ** _'If his parents have given up, it might've been a long time. The cat is probably dead,'_** Kar thought.

 _'Either way, let's give this poor kid some closure.'_

Marco held the toy up and closed his eyes. Hopefully the cat played with it as much as the kid insinuated, or he'd have to resort to the Locator Ritual, and he really, _really_ didn't want to use the Locator Ritual.

Marco was excited. He hadn't done contemporary magic in so long. He took a deep breath and concentrated.

Then, he felt the nostalgic feeling pulsing through his body, and then coming out his fingertips to go into the toy.

Marco opened his eyes and watched the toy as it lifted up into the air, emitting a soft glow. It pulsed a few times as the magic set in.

Marco forgot how much that took out of him. He was already a little tired, after such a small spell.

And then the glow brightened and the toy flew off in a rush.

"Crap, I forgot how fast it goes," Marco said before running after it. The chase was on.

Marco followed the toy as it dodged through trees and civilians, and then across concrete and sidewalks, and Marco kept a pretty steady pace behind it.

That is, until it started weaving through fast moving traffic.

"Kar! Dek-A'launt," Marco said, and Kar stretched up and grabbed a traffic light so that Marco could swing across, keeping his eyes on the toy as it crossed.

And then the toy fell to the ground, in the middle of the traffic, and Marco cursed under his breath.

He forgot how _bad_ he was at mental magic. He'd have to recast it.

But first they had to retrieve it.

"Switch," Marco said. Kar lifted Marco all the way up to the traffic light so he could grip it with his hand.

Once Marco grabbed on, Kar stretched his body downwards where the toy had fallen.

The cars were moving really fast. Everytime Kar's tip got close to the toy, he'd have to retract immediately or risk getting hit by a car. The timing had to be perfect.

Marco watched Kar with rapt attention for all of a second before he realized the pain in his arm. The familiar pain of Marco lifting more than his muscles would allow, the tense cramping that was filling his arm, telling him he was biting off more than he could chew.

The pain that told him that this weak little body could barely hold his own weight up one-handed, let alone the large, muscle-dense tentacle that was currently stretching down to their goal.

Fuck, Kar was _heavy._

Marco kept an eye up at his hand, where, beyond his control, his _stupid, weak_ arm was giving up, and his grip was slipping.

There was nothing he could do about it. He was going to fall down into traffic because he misjudged his own strength again. Because he thought he could handle the _simplest_ of things. Because he forgot he was just a kid again.

Because he couldn't just accept he was a kid.

His grip slipped onto just the tips of his fingers and he wished with all his might he could just muster up _any_ of his adult strength.

And then, beside his own slipping hand, a tentacle wrapped around the pole.

 **"If you needed help, you could've just asked,"** Kar said, slipping under Marco like a swing. Marco let go of the pole and let his arm just hang at his side.

"Fuck," Marco said. God, he was so stuck in his own head-

 **"Calm down. You may not be able to read my mind, but I feel the same way. I get it,"** Kar said. **"We're both just little kids with nothing again. God, If I had my old body…"**

Kar would've been able to get the toy in an instant.

 **"I'm so goddamn slow now, not to mention _squishy_ and weak. I can only hold, like, one or two people maybe. Three tops."**

Marco laughed a little.

 **"I've felt so freaking useless since we got here. But we don't have to be. We just have to work around our weaknesses, right? You weren't always a badass warrior. Do what you would've done before then."**

Okay, yeah, Kar might've been right. They could do this. It was just a stupid little cat toy. They could get it easily. They just needed to be resourceful.

"Oh! Duh!" Marco said, ready to slap himself. Instead, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his dimensional scissors.

 **"Be careful with those,"** Kar said.

"Don't worry." He just needed to make a small enough portal so that only the toy could fall through.

Marco looked down at the toy once more. He then opened a small horizontal portal in front of him.

The toy immediately fell through Marco caught it between his feet.

 **"Nice."**

Marco smiled. It felt good to actually use the scissors he worked so hard to earn.

Once he put them back into his pocket, Marco grabbed the toy and focused again. He hoped this time, the spell would at least last a little longer.

The toy floated up and glowed, and in a few seconds they were back on the chase.

They jumped back down to the sidewalk and followed as the toy flew around people and buildings, ducking into alleyways and over fences to get the most direct route to its owner.

Then, it turned into an alleyway and fell to the ground, halfway through.

Marco walked up to it and sighed. He didn't know if he had enough stamina in him for another go, but he would have to if he wanted to find the cat.

And then a bone-skinny cat with patches missing from its thick, grey-white fur jumped out and tackled the toy, possibly hoping that it had some sort of food in it.

"...Fluffy?" Marco said, in hopes that maybe the spell worked the way it was supposed to.

The cat looked up at him when he said the name and started rubbing against his legs, purring vigorously.

 **"Well, we can't read his tag, so we're just gonna have to go with it and hope we're right, I guess."**

"Sounds like a plan," Marco said.

Kar picked the cat up, and Marco pulled his scissors out again. The kid would be able to tell if it were the right cat, right?

Marco cut into the air and walked through to the Quest Board, where the boy was still waiting, staring down at his flyer.

"Hey, is this your cat?" Marco said, scaring the kid enough that he jumped.

For half a second, the kid looked like he was going to ask Marco how he appeared there, but then his eyes locked on the cat, and he said, "Fluffy!"

The cat responded by jumping out of Kar's grip and into the boy's arms.

"That was so cool! Thank you so much!" the kid said.

"No problem," Marco said. "Make sure you take him home right away. He looks hungry."

"Okay!" The kid reached into his pocket and grabbed his wad of cash. He handed it to Marco before scurrying off.

 **"Sweet kid."** Kar said.

Marco held the money to Kar's face. "Not as sweet as the amount of ice cream we're about to get."

Kar smiled.

Marco shoved the money in his pocket and ripped open a portal to the ice cream shop. The clerk looked up.

"You two are full of surprises," the clerk said.

Marco placed his money on the counter. He really hoped 'seven dollars' was a decent amount. "How much can we get with this? Minus what we owe you from before." It seemed fair that way.

The man went through the money, possibly looking for any suspicious blood stains. Satisfied, he said, "A large sundae. Your choice of flavors and toppings."

Marco slammed his fist dramatically. "Whatever's the most popular one!"

"Um, not that it's any of my business," the clerk said. "But you seem a little strapped for funds. Maybe you should buy a cheap shirt before you buy ice cream."

 **"You're definitely right. It isn't any of your business,"** Kar said.

The clerk put his hands up in surrender. "Whatever," he said. Then, he grabbed a odd spoon and started scooping several different flavors into a bowl. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Marco said, and brought the bowl over to one of the tables. Then, him and Kar both took big scoops and shoved them in their mouths.

It was totally worth the quest. Sweet and salty mixed in Marco's mouth, a flavor he'd never tasted in Heckapoo's dimension, and a blast of extra sweet as the topping hit his tongue, the rest having melted away.

 ** _'This is better than sex,'_ **Kar thought, his mouth still filled with the ice cream.

Marco didn't quite know if he agreed or not, but he hadn't gotten laid in years, so…

 ** _'Don't think too hard about it. Just enjoy your goddamn ice cream.'_**

Marco wasn't about to argue with that. He shoved another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and let it melt again. God, it was _fantastic_.

"Marco? Is that you?"

Marco choked a little on the ice cream and looked around to see a girl with glasses and a headband coming toward him. There was something familiar about her, but he couldn't place it. Other than knowing his name, of course.

"Marco, how ya doin?" she said as she plopped down into the chair opposite him. Yeah, he still couldn't place where he'd seen her...

"Uh, good?" Marco said, hoping to not sound like he had no idea who she was.

"Oh! You don't have to pretend to know who I am," she said, completely catching Marco off guard. "Ferguson and Alfonso told everyone about your sixteen year epic quest and how you don't remember anything or anyone."

Marco blinked. "They _what_?" Kar absent-mindedly shoved a scoop of ice-cream in his mouth.

The girl just shrugged. "They got everyone in the school up to date. The teachers, your old friends, the janitorial staff. Et cetera et cetera, you know?"

She took a sip from a water bottle she'd apparently had in her bag, and continued.

"Don't worry, though! Everyone, and I mean, like, _everyone_ , wants to help you. Like, Ms. Skullnick is totally up for tutoring you to get you caught up, and the principal printed out a bunch of pictures to put outside classrooms so you can tell what's inside, and we all agreed to introduce ourselves when we saw you so you can start to remember us and stuff."

"Uh, I, uh…" Marco said. Holy shit. His entire plan of keeping it a secret went right out the window. And, somehow, it felt like everything might end up okay after all…

"Oh! Right! I didn't actually introduce myself!" she said. "Sorry, it totally slipped my brain. Doy!"

Marco took a bite of the ice cream. It was a lot to take in…

"Anyway, my name's… uh." She frowned, like she wanted to say one thing, but changed her mind at the last moment. "Julie. I'm Julie."

"Uh, hi, Julie," Marco said. "I'm Marco."

She laughed a little. "Nice to meet you... again."

Marco chuckled. "Yeah, oh, and this is Kar'Margorach," he said, gesturing at Kar. "He was my… Tag-along-buddy on the quest."

Kar swallowed his ice cream and smiled at her. **"Nice to meet'ya."**

"Nice to meet you, too, Kar." She took another gulp of water and then said, "So what are you guys doing out here? Weren't you in the hospital or something?"

 **"Aren't you supposed to be in school?"** Kar said.

She smiled and shrugged. "I skipped cause I knew Star wasn't gonna be there. I mean, if she's not there, what's the point?"

"Oh shit, Star," Marco said. Goddammit! What the hell was he doing here, eating ice cream?

Literally _everyone_ he knew was trying to help him right now and he just kept running away like some coward. Star and his family must have been worried sick.

"I gotta go, Julie, but thanks for telling me all that. I really am a lucky guy," Marco said. Hopefully he didn't just fuck everything up with his little temper tantrum.

Kar put the rest of the ice cream into his mouth. **"Alright I'm ready. Time to fix shit up."**

"Go to her, Marco!" she said, her eyes lighting up in a way that made Marco a little uncomfortable.

"Uh, thanks, bye," Marco said, and rushed out the door, smiling back at her so he didn't burn his bridges right away.

And then he crashed straight into what felt like a wall, and fell back against the now-closed door.

"Marco!" a woman's voice said. Wait, no, he definitely knew that voice. He blinked a few times and looked up to see Queen Moon offering him a hand.

Hesitantly, he took it, and then said, "What're you doing here?"

"We've been looking for you, of course," Moon said, as if Marco had just asked the most idiotic question ever uttered. "We had a vague idea of where you were, but apparently Echo Creek has several 'Touchstone Ice Cream' locations, so we had to check each one."

Oh, Marco supposed that made sense…

Wait, no it didn't.

"How did you figure out I was in one of these?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, we used one of those 'sketchy spells' that had once been in the book," she said.

 ** _'Wait a minute, so it was-'_**

"Marco, we need to talk."


	25. Chapter 25: Was It Worth It

**Author's Notes:** Hey guys, sorry for the delayed chapters. Lot of stuff (mainly the weather) was getting in the way of me working on this. Really, REALLY wish I managed to finish this before the trial episode, but whatevs. Just know that everything here was planned before Season 3B aired

Anyway, Enjoy!

* * *

Queen Moon stepped inside the ice cream shop and walked to the nearest table. She gently sat down on a chair with all the grace you'd expect from a queen and looked at Marco expectantly. Several people were sneaking glances at her from across the shop, but she didn't pay them any mind.

"Why don't you take a seat? I won't bite," Moon said, tapping on the chair next to her.

 **"You might not, but your husband sure does."**

Moon frowned but kept eye contact with Marco.

Marco looked back at her apprehensively. _'I don't think my family or Star were able to convince her, Kar. Seems like she just wants to sit me down and lecture me about respecting adults,'_ he thought.

 ** _'Well, you kind of need that lecture,'_** Kar thought. **_'But I don't think that's the case. Just talk to her.'_**

Marco sat down on the seat that was across from Moon. He could tell the conversation was going to be awkward and gruelling.

"Are you hungry?" Moon asked, reaching into her dress for something, supposedly money. "I could buy you something."

Marco put up his hand. "No thanks, I already had ice cream."

 **"It's kind of why we were here to begin with."**

"Ah, I see," Moon said. "Alright then."

There was a short moment where everyone was silent, as if Moon was busy trying to figure out how to call someone a filthy liar without offending them, and then Julie walked up to the table out of nowhere, her eyes fixated on Moon.

"Oh, wow! Are you Star's mom?" Julie asked, barely containing her excitement.

"I, um. Yes," Moon said, clearly caught off guard by the intrusion. "Who-"

"Oh my god! You're Moon the Undaunted, Conqueror of the Eternal Monster, Queen of Mewni!" she said, like she was meeting a celebrity. Moon blinked a few times, once again completely caught off guard.

"How do you know about all of that?" Moon asked.

"Oh, I've read Star's Mewman history books like ten times! I wanted to learn everything about Star's lore, so I borrowed them! I know all about your epic quest for vengeance after-"

"Excuse me," Moon said. " _Who_ are you again?"

"Oh, right! Duh! I forgot to introduce myself again! I keep doing that today!" she said. "I'm StarFan13! I'm like Star's _best_ friend!"

Moon shot a look at Marco, and he just shrugged at her. He found it a little odd that Julie was giving Moon another name than the one she'd given him, but it might have been her formal title instead. She was in front of royalty, after all.

 ** _'Did Star run a cult or something?'_**

 _'I'm not sure,'_ Marco thought. But it was pretty insane that there were at least twelve other people obsessed with her.

"That's odd. Star has never mentioned you before," Moon said.

"I mean, how often do you actually talk to your daughter?" Marco asked.

Moon turned back to Marco with a look, and Julie said, "Marco! Don't be rude to her majesty! The woman has an entire kingdom to run, so of course she doesn't have time for Star!"

Kar burst out laughing and Moon pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. Julie seemed mildly confused at everyone's reactions. She apparently didn't realize that she made Moon look worse.

"As much as it was nice to meet one of my daughter's friends," Moon said, "I unfortunately have to ask you to leave, Miss Thirteen. I have much to discuss with Marco. _Alone_."

For just a moment, it looked like an arrow had shot through Julie's heart. Her eye twitched ever so slightly, and then a big fake smile was back on her face.

"Right! Got it! It's about Marco's quest. I'll just, go be annoying somewhere else and let the adults talk it out," she said, pointing her fingers at them and then running to the exit.

"Uh, bye, Julie! Thanks!" Marco said before she was out the door.

Moon waited for Julie to be completely gone and then turned back to Marco and Kar.

"Odd girl," she said.

 **"You got that right,"** Kar said.

"It's hard to believe that a human knows more about Butterfly history than its future queen," Moon said.

"Yeah, well, Star always did prefer living in the present," Marco said.

"Apparently so."

There was another bout of awkward silence and Marco was kind of hoping someone else from his past would randomly come over and interrupt them.

 ** _'You're pathetic, kid.'_**

 _'Well I don't see you taking the helm of this conversation!'_

After a few more seconds, the silence was finally stifling enough that Moon couldn't take it anymore and sighed, grabbing Marco and Kar's attention instantly.

"I suppose apologies are in order before we begin," she said.

Marco took a deep breath. Yeah, she was right. He had to swallow his stupid pride and take responsibility for freaking out like that. Well, here went nothing...

"With that said, I'm sorry for attacking you earlier," Moon said to Kar'Margorach.

Uh, what?

 **"Uh, what?"** Kar said.

"It was wrong of River and I to attack you based on your appearance alone, without knowing the full story. It was rather ignorant of us. I hope we can move past this so we can work together on fixing Star's spell."

 **"I, uh, yeah. Definitely,"** Kar said.

Alright, Marco was _not_ expecting that. He wasn't even thinking about Kar when Moon had mentioned apologies. Was this something Star told her to do or...

"Would you introduce yourself so I can refer to you properly for now on?" Moon asked.

 **"Sure thing. My name is Kar'Margorach, Twelve Demon Prince of the Forgotten Domain. My friends just call me Kar though."**

Moon stared at Kar in disbelief. "You're... royalty?"

Kar faced her solemnly. **"Used to be. It was centuries ago, but I remember it vividly. I was forced into an arranged marriage with a woman I didn't love. To escape that fate, I destroyed my body and converted my soul into a curse, which somehow ended up in your book."**

Moon covered her mouth in shock. "I'm… so sorry. I had no idea. That must have been so difficult for you."

 **"Yeah, you know what, after saying it out loud, that does seem really tragic. Thank God I didn't actually go through that. Could you imagine?"**

"Wait, you made that all up? You _lied_ to me?" Moon said.

What in the world was Kar thinking?

Then Moon chuckled and it grew into a laugh. "You really had me going there. I can't believe I fell for it. But, to give credit where credit is due, 'The Forgotten Domain' did sound archaic enough to seem genuine."

 **"Yeah, I figured I had to really ham that part up to convince you. Glad it worked, though,"** Kar said, not missing a beat. Then, he reached out to shake her hand. **"The name is _actually_ Kar'Margorach, and I'm probably not royalty, but if I ever was, I'd get overthrown by the peasants."**

"Oh, yeah, they'd _hate_ you," Marco said.

Moon chuckled again. "You two seem to be very close."

 **"Well, we are literally attached to each other. You could say we're inseparable."**

Moon snorted. "I suppose so." She reached over and shook the tip of Kar's tentacle, trying to hide her disgust. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kar'Margorach."

 _'How the hell did you get her to laugh like that?'_ Marco thought.

 ** _'I'm a funny guy. That's how. Now come on. I loosened the stick up her ass a little. Now it's your turn to pull the rest out.'_**

Marco barely held in his laugh. _'Yeah, okay. Maybe she'll be easier to talk to now.'_ He sure hoped so.

"Could you two stop telepathically communicating in front of me?" Moon said, raising her eyebrow at them. "It's kind of rude when you're already in conversation."

Shit. Were they that obvious?

"How could you tell?" Marco asked.

"You broke eye contact, started making visual reactions to speech I couldn't hear, and you kept glancing at Kar'Margorach. All while remaining silent for about fifteen seconds. I know a telepathic interaction when I see one. Diplomats with such gifts are usually more subtle about it, though."

Oh God. She probably thought they were shit-talking her.

 ** _'I mean, we kind of were.'_**

 _'Shut up, Kar.'_

"I'm sure you're used to it, but if Kar'Margorach is going to be out more often, you should probably break the habit. You might upset someone unintentionally."

Holy crap she was perceptive. "Oh, uh, thanks. That's pretty good advice, actually."

"It's no problem. Have you two always been able to communicate that way?" Moon asked.

"Not at first, no. It's something we figured out along the way."

"During your quest?" Moon asked.

"Yes. Our quest. The quest that _definitely_ happened."

"Yes," Moon said. "That one. I'm sorry I didn't believe you earlier."

Marco deflated a little. Thank fucking God. "I don't blame you. I mean, look at me." Marco gestured to his chest. "I don't exactly scream 'epic hero'. How did they even convince you?"

"It was Star," Moon said. "She gave me solid evidence that you went through it all."

"Evidence?" Marco said. He hadn't brought any artifacts back with him, and the scissors weren't enough to convince her.

"Your journal," Moon said. "Three hundred pages of glyphs, runes, and ruminations." Marco would probably say it was closer to two hundred, but he wasn't about to contradict her. "The language was too foreign for me to translate, but I could see the immediate difference between the wobbly, carefully written pages in the beginning compared to the quick, skinny shorthands in the last pages. You cannot just fake that. Not in the same way you could buy a pair of counterfeit scissors."

"It's called Riradesh, and it is _so_ needlessly difficult to learn," Marco said. "So much so that I had to practically beat written English out of my head to learn it."

 **"Honestly, fuck that language. Especially when you have to learn it with a horrible pen grip and no eyes."**

"Ah yes, Star mentioned that you couldn't read English anymore. It was the reason she cast the memory spell in the first place, wasn't it?"

 **"Yeah. As you can see, it's worked wonders for us,"** Kar said.

"Star already feels bad enough about it already," Marco said. "She kind of blames herself for everything bad that happened in those sixteen years. I'm trying to get her to realize it isn't that simple."

Moon's eyes went wide. "Sixteen years?"

Marco frowned. "Wait. Did no one mention how long it took?"

"They neglected to inform me of that, no," Moon said. "Everyone was too busy berating me to give me the details." She frowned and took a longer look at Marco. "That's just such a long time for one of her quests, even considering you were a teenager..."

"Uh, how long do the quests normally take?" Marco asked.

"A few years, usually. Never past a decade, and certainly never that long," Moon said. "Don't take this the wrong way, but what were you doing? Wandering aimlessly for years at a time?"

Marco shrugged. "I mean, I was living a life in-between hunting Heckapoo clones. There were definitely some stretches of time where I wasn't even looking for them. I was preoccupied with saving lives and shit."

 **"What, do people on quests usually say fuck you to the civilians and spend all their time hunting those clones?"**

"Yes, actually," Moon said, as if it was obvious. "If you knew centuries would pass in the hours after, then why would you focus on the small details?"

"Well, I didn't know about that, so, to me, they were the big details," Marco said.

Moon frowned. "You… you _didn't_ know you were in a time-dilated dimension?"

"What? No. Of course I didn't!" Marco said. "Wait, was I supposed to know?"

"Of course. All officially sanctioned questers are told about the time dilation effects, to prevent distraction and even the playing fields. But, your quest was far from official. Heckapoo wasn't even supposed to offer a quest to you. So I suppose she was just breaking all of the rules with this incident."

Wait, 'officially sanctioned'? What the hell did that mean?

 **"So she was just fucking with us for fun?"**

"Who knows? Perhaps it was an experiment," Moon said. "Maybe she expected you to give up immediately, and ended up painfully wrong. You are a human after all. She probably never expected you to succeed."

Yeah. If there was anything he had learned from the quest, it was persistence. But Marco still had some questions for her. "What did you mean, she 'wasn't supposed to offer a quest' to me?" he asked.

"Are you aware of the Magical High Commission, Marco?" Moon asked in response.

"Yeah," Marco said. "Heckapoo mentioned it a few times over drinks, and Star told me all about it when I got back. I get that they're the ones who could probably tell Heckapoo who she can and can't give a quest to. What I don't get is why they would give a fuck if she gave one to me."

Moon quirked her eyebrow and then gave him an odd look. "You are aware of the _purpose_ of the quests, yes?"

"I mean, I beat the quest," Marco said, holding the scissors up for her to see better. "This is it, right?"

"If it were that simple, no one would go on quests. There are countless counterfeits and stray scissors lying around the multiverse. If all you wanted was interdimensional travel, you could buy a hand-me-down from Quest Buy."

 **"Well, when you put it that way, we really got gypped,"** Kar said.

Marco looked down at his scissors. Did they really go through all that just for something they could buy at a pawn shop?

Was it all for nothing?

 **"What the hell were we supposed to get, then?"** Kar asked.

Right. If people still went on quests, there had to be _something_ that made it worth it.

"Completing one of Heckapoo's quests has a far greater meaning than personal scissors. It's the invitation of a world into the multiverse, a trial that proves the dimension worthy of integration into society and into the cultures of the multiverse."

"What does any of that even mean?" Marco asked.

Moon took a moment to collect her thoughts and then said, "When you first met Star, did you find it shocking that magic was real and that there were other dimensions?"

"Well, naturally." While his family and friends took it all with a grain of salt, Marco was completely overwhelmed when Star first came. It took him weeks to get used to it.

"Did you ever stop to think about _why_ you hadn't known about anything your whole life? You've visited other dimensions with Star, and many of those worlds traded with each other and had magic. None of the inhabitants of those worlds would be surprised to see a Mewman princess traveling with dimensional scissors."

Holy shit. "It means that no human had ever earned a pair of scissors, so Earth was pretty much isolated."

 **"Why the hell has no one earned a pair of scissors yet, though? Marco can't be the first person to ever try, right?"**

"Actually, he _was_ the first human to try. Heckapoo wasn't supposed to give _any_ humans quests," Moon said. "At all."

"What?" Marco said. It wasn't like humans were less sentient or anything. Why didn't they get a shot at it? What made them special? What the hell was-

 **"Why?"** Kar said.

"Earth serves a different purpose to the High Commission. We've restricted its access to the other dimensions and kept it in the dark about magic," Moon said.

That didn't make any sense, though. Marco and Star fought monsters on Earth all the time. Not to mention the fact that Star was living there.

 **"What about Star or the monsters that went to Earth and fought her?"**

"The High Commission isn't all powerful. We made it illegal to travel to Earth, but there will always be some who slip through the cracks."

Yeah, that made enough sense. The ones who slipped through in the past just became myths and legends, like the gorgons.

But…

"What about Star then?" Marco asked. She wasn't a slip up, Moon herself sent her there.

"Star was sent here specifically because of what Earth is. It was the only place where no one would attempt to steal her wand. Star is anything but subtle, but the people of Earth would perceive her magic as tricks and effects. Having never seen magic before, humans will just compare it to what they _do_ know, like technology or puppetry or something of that standing."

 **"Makes sense."**

It did, but at the same point it didn't. Something just seemed fishy about it. Why had Earth been kept in the dark about magic? Was it just so that it could be a refuge from the magically knowledged? Was that really worth shutting it out for so long? How long had it even been shut out? When did they even discover it? Was this a million year plan, or a recent thing that Moon herself had come up with? Why would-

 **"Why did you guys keep Earth in the dark, though?"** Kar asked. **_'One question at a time, dude. I can't keep up.'_**

Oh. Right. He might've been getting a little too deep in his thoughts. _'Thanks.'_

"Research," Moon said, "Earth was the first dimension the High Commission found that had no trace of magic in it, but had huge, functioning societies. They decided to close it off to see how long it could last before the lack of magic tore the dimension apart. Thousands of years later, and it is still holding strong."

 ** _'Holy shit, it's just like Heckapoo's dimension.'_**

 _'Yeah.'_

But if they were using Earth and Heckapoo's Dimension like that, how many other dimensions were being used?

"So, then, if the experiment was to see how long humans could survive without magic, maybe Heckapoo just decided it was time to end the experiment?" Or maybe start a new one. Seeing how a human reacted to a quest.

 **"Yeah, I could see that."**

"But it wasn't an officially sanctioned-"

"That's the thing! Heckapoo probably knew they wouldn't let her do it officially, so she took a risk and let me take the quest anyway," Marco said. "What if this was her plan all along? What if it's supposed to be my job to introduce magic and interdimensional travel to Earth?"

 **"We could have a reason to be here,"** Kar said.

"Yeah! And imagine the resources that are rare on Earth, but are all over the place in the other dimensions, or vise versa! It would solve so many of society's problems!"

 **"Earth could trade ice cream for gold or some shit!"**

"Yeah and-"

"I'm afraid you can't do that, Marco," Moon said. "You are not officially recognized by the High Commission. If they found out you were trying to bring magic to this dimension, they _would_ stop you."

Marco frowned. "But I finished the quest. I know I probably didn't beat any world records or anything, but considering the circumstances-"

"It is _because_ of the circumstances that you cannot do this. I'm not sure what was going through her head when Heckapoo gave you that quest, but at the end of the day, all she did was traumatize a child. She crossed the line, and she will be punished for it."

Marco stood up. "I'm not some victim! I _chose_ to go on the quest. I should reap the benefits of that quest whether it was official or not!"

"It's not a _prize_ , Marco. It's a responsibility," Moon said. "A responsibility too big for a child to handle."

Marco slammed his hand on the table. "I'm not a _child_!"

 ** _'Marco, calm down.'_**

"Why? Aren't you pissed that Earth is yet another dimension controlled by self-centered demigods?"

 ** _'Marco, you're talking out loud-'_**

"I don't _care_! I finally had a goddamn reason to be on Earth! I would've been able to help everyone! I could have a purpose, and it's all being taken away for no good reason!"

"Marco," Moon said, standing up in worry.

Marco realized he was hyperventilating. "I'm just fucking back at square one, and I have to work ten times as hard just to get back to the normal standing of a fucking teenager! At least if I could get something more from the quest than this hunk of fucking garbage," he threw the scissors onto the ground, "It could be worth it! The shit I went through-"

 _Her eyes went wide and then she was gone._

Oh god he couldn't breathe.

 _Piles of corpses littering the ground. He couldn't save them._

He was on the ground now.

 _He screamed Marco's name, but it cut off with a gurgling sound._

 **"Marco, breathe…"**

He couldn't.

 _The walls crashing in. He didn't know what to do!_

 **"Count down from ten."**

Right, right. He just needed to focus. Ten…

 _Fire, fire everywhere. He couldn't…_

El…

 _"I… I love you…" A whisper, coated in blood._

Dek…

 _A spear through the heart, it took too long…_

Nine…

 _He was hanging from the tree, by the neck._

Eight.

Seven.

Marco took a few deep breaths. It seemed like an eternity since he just breathed.

Six.

Five.

 **"You okay?"**

Marco nodded his head slowly. Four.

Three.

Marco opened his eyes and took in the scene. Two.

One. Moon was watching over him carefully, as if she wanted to help, but felt it wasn't her place. She would be right in that regard.

 ** _'Marco, it wasn't just the scissors. There were people you saved, slaves you freed, children who got to grow up because of you.'_**

 _'They're all long past dead.'_ It had been eons since he left. The bones of the people he saved would be dirt by now, if that.

 ** _'That doesn't make your impact any less important. You completely changed their lives. You made that dimension a better place. Just because the other questers thought they weren't worth anything, doesn't mean they aren't. Besides, Heckapoo could've stayed true to her promise."_**

Marco wasn't sure. He went back to that dimension once during the night with Thomifat to retrieve the nectar. He was too worried about Jackie and Star to examine everything, but it looked like the forest hadn't changed at all. Marco wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

 ** _'I really think she did. How could she not after everything we did?'_**

Yeah, that was true. Marco took a deep breath. Okay, so it wasn't absolutely for nothing. He couldn't let the bad define him, and he needed to acknowledge the good he did as well.

Marco grabbed the scissors off the ground and put them in his pocket.

That still didn't stop the fact that Earth was just another dimension exploited by the High Commission, though.

 ** _'I'm not telling you just sit down and accept it. That was never the type of guy you were. One thing at a time though.'_**

"Yeah, okay," Marco said, slowly getting up again. "I'm okay."

"I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have told you all of this at once. It may have been a bit overwhelming," Moon said.

"It's okay," Marco said. It was better that he knew, anyway.

He looked at Moon, who looked pretty guilty at the whole thing, and sighed. It wasn't like _she_ had been the one who chose Earth as a experiment. A bunch of immortal assholes decided it, and she got roped into being the messenger.

"I'm sorry for freaking out," Marco said. It'd been a while since he'd had a panic attack that bad.

"It's quite alright," Moon said. "It actually gave us a little privacy."

Marco looked around and noticed the empty seats littering the shop. The only person still there was the clerk, who was paying rapt attention while pretending to fiddle with a machine.

 **"Yeah, they all left when you started yelling."**

"I'm still sorry. So far all I've been doing is flipping my shit. Not exactly a good first impression," Marco said.

Moon smiled. "It's okay, dear. We all have our demons."

"Yeah," Marco said.

"I suppose I should go get everyone, then. You know, to let them know you're okay," Moon said.

Marco nodded. "Okay, but where do we go from there?"

 _A raging circle of fire floated above the grassland, a good distance from where Marco sat. Heckapoo stepped out of it and stared at him._

 _Well, if it wasn't her fucking majesty here to visit. How many years had it been? Seven?_

 _Finally, after a silence that felt like eternity, she said, "We need to talk."_

 _Marco didn't even bother looking back at her. What could she possibly want from him right now? He was not in the mood for her bullshit. But considering who she was, she probably knew that already and wanted to mess with him. Couldn't he grieve in peace?_

 _Heckapoo sighed. "Right, okay, so I guess **I** need to talk to **you**."_

 _"There's only one version of you that I want to talk to, and you're not her," Marco said. "Go away."_

 _"You're right. I'm not her," Heckapoo said. She walked through the tall grass, stained with blood. "Not entirely."_

 _Marco just looked up at her and frowned. Heckapoo kept walking, and then nearly tripped over the dead man with his face down in the dirt._

 _"Ugh, right. **This**_ _guy. I forgot you had to deal with him after the fact. Why didn't you let Kar eat him?"_

 _Marco had needed to be alone, so he threatened Kar and told him to return to his arm for the foreseeable future._

 _"He's asleep."_

 _The fact that she knew about Kar at all sent a glimmer of hope through Marco's chest, but he quickly squashed it. She wasn't **her**_ _. H-Poo was dead. The woman who stood in front of him was a complete stranger by comparison._

 _"Marco," Heckapoo said, sitting down on a rock beside him. "It's not like she's dead or anything."_

 _"She's not?" Marco asked._

 _"She's inside me now. I've got all her memories, her thoughts and feelings-"_

 _"Then let her out."_

 _"I can't. She's not dead, but I can't just make her exist again. Every clone I create starts as a blank slate with parts of my personality. Her thoughts and feelings- those built over time. I can't just recreate her."_

 _Marco sighed and looked back at the corpse. "Then, she's dead."_

 _Heckapoo started to answer, and then stopped herself. "She really loved you, you know?"_

 _"Yeah, I know," Marco said, not taking his eyes off the man who murdered her. "Why are you here?"_

 _"To be honest, when I found out everything, I was pissed that you managed to seduce her," she said. "I came here to personally kick your ass."_

 _Would've been better if she came there to kill him._

 _"But, then I saw you, and I kind of realized we needed to talk to each other."_

 _"What's there to talk about?" Marco said bitterly. "H-Poo's dead and I killed her killer. If you wanted revenge, you're too late. If you wanted to save her, you're too late. If you wanted me to care about your stupid quest, you're too late. If you-" A sob cut him off and he wiped at one of his eyes, like it would make it look like he got something in it and he wasn't crying hysterically._

 _"Marco, I'm just… confused," Heckapoo said, taking a big breath._

 _"Makes two of us."_

 _Heckapoo sighed. "I got all of her memories when she… died, and it kind of screwed up my head a little. She's a part of me now. And now that part of me has the hots for you."_

 _Heh. That was always how H-Poo worded it, too. "So… what? You're saying you're in love with me?"_

 _Heckapoo rolled her eyes. "Don't get cocky, kid. I'm not going that far. She's not, like, half of me or anything. She's one of the millions of clones I've vicariously lived through. She's right there at the forefront now, but a couple more clones and it won't even matter anymore."_

 _Marco kicked up the ground a little. "What are you saying?"_

 _"I have her feelings for you, but they'll be gone before I know it. More flames will get blown out, and I'll get more memories and it'll all mix together. Then everything will be back to normal."_

 _"So, what you're telling me… is that H-Poo is fucking dead."_

 _Heckapoo shrugged. "Maybe there is no better way of saying it than that. I'm sorry. She wasn't the first clone that did this sort of thing. They get into relationships sometimes. It's just never with the person doing the quest. It kind of complicates things."_

 _"What, so you're gonna go easy on me now because she died?" Marco asked. He didn't want her pity._

 _"No, probably not," she said. "But I actually know you. If a clone falls in love with a farmer in the mountains, it's completely separate from me. But I've seen you grow over the years. You're the one thing that's in every single clone's memories when I get them, even if it's just a passing moment of you catching them off guard. I **know**_ _you, Marco. That's what's making this so weird for me."_

 _Marco looked up at her. He never considered that. He probably spent a total of fifteen minutes with her, but she'd seen everything her clones saw._

 _She was with him throughout his time in the forest, every day he spent fighting the first clone, as he got closer and closer to beating her. She was there as he grew in ranks through the guild, as he aimed higher and higher. She was there as he fought hand-in-hand against the Elesh Court. It wasn't her, not really, but she probably knew him better than he knew himself at this point._

 _"I guess no one else really spent any time with the clones, huh?" Marco said. "You know, other than trying to kill them."_

 _"Oh yeah, definitely not. But I don't ever recall one of my clones spying on the quester on their first date, either," she said._

 _Marco frowned. "Wait… Guildmaster Heckapoo spied on my first date with Ally?"_

 _"Yeah. She watched the whole thing, dude."_

 _"But, why? Didn't she have anything better to do?"_

 _"Who knows?"_

 _"No, you're not getting away with it that easy. You have her memories."_

 _"Yeah, okay. She wanted to mess with you. To be fair, it was kind of her job."_

 _"Holy shit, was she the reason I threw up on Ally's lap?"_

 _"Yeah, she may have snuck something into your food. Your fault for not checking it, honestly. You should've known better."_

 _"God, she was such a bitch."_

 _"Yeah. She was."_

 _They both chuckled a little and then Marco said, "It's kind of crazy how different your clones are from each other."_

 _"Yeah, it gets a little overwhelming inheriting their traits sometimes," Heckapoo said._

 _"Well, maybe you'll inherit some of H-Poo's charm or wit and that'll just overshadow the asshole clones."_

 _Heckapoo laughed. "Oh, please. She had, like, no charm. At all. The only reason you guys got together is because you were a raging maniac who wanted your stupid memories back-"_

 _"If she weren't so concerned about my 'safety', I wouldn't have lost those memories in the first place!" Marco said, smiling._

 _For just a moment, it felt like he was talking to her again, but then he looked at Heckapoo, the **real**_ _Heckapoo, and saw the look in her eye- the grief that her smile wasn't reaching- and he looked back down at the ground._

 _"I'm sorry," Marco said._

 _"Don't apologize, dude. You're the one who lost her."_

 _Marco frowned. He supposed H-Poo lost him, too. "I'm gonna be honest, Heckapoo, I don't think I can hunt down these clones anymore. They were just objectives before, but now…" Marco took a deep breath. "If they want to live, I don't want to take it from them, and honestly, they weren't hurting anyone to begin with."_

 _As much as the guildmaster Heckapoo was an asshole to Marco, she'd been a good leader that he took away from the rest of the guild when he blew her flame out. No one would argue that he wasn't a shitty replacement._

 _H-Poo had been helping so many people as a doctor, even if it was at the expense of some cash, before he'd whisked her away to fight a war that didn't concern her._

 _"If it makes you feel better, she was an anomaly," Heckapoo said. "None of my clones were ever that concerned with living. They get that from me, an immortal being."_

 _She paused for a moment._

 _"But, if she existed, others like her could exist too. You're not wrong for not wanting to get rid of them. You don't have to."_

 _"I don't know if I can just give up on the quest, though-"_

 _"Oh, nothing about the quest said that you had to blow out every clone's flame. Just mine," she said. "Lots of questers skipped most of the clones and just took me out. We could duke it out right now and end the quest one way or another."_

 _Marco laughed. "Yeah, okay. You'd kick my ass any day of the week. Your clone spent the better part of a year with me. You know all my strengths and weaknesses. If I so much as attempted to fight you here, I'd probably end up dead."_

 _"Not necessarily," she said._

 _"Don't treat me like a kid," Marco said. "If I won today, it'd be out of pity. Beating you is something I need to earn."_

 _Heckapoo shut her mouth and then sighed. "Sorry."_

 _There was a moment where he stared down at the corpse again, the man who'd blown out her flame with a mediocre wind spell- something he'd planned on using to kick up dirt to distract them._

 _He kind of regretted not telling Kar to just eat the body, but something felt wrong about getting rid of it, like if it wasn't there, there was no proof H-Poo was killed, no proof she existed. It was a stupid concept now that he thought about it. She had so much crap in that house, they'd have a hard time disproving her existence. Not to mention all those people who are alive today because of her..._

 _Damn, she really was gone…_

 _"If you aren't formally quitting the quest, then I have to stay here," Heckapoo said. "But if you aren't ready to face me yet, and you don't want to blow out anymore flames, where are you going from here?"_

 _Marco had spent the last couple hours figuring out the rest of his life. "I was planning on getting a tattoo, getting wasted like nobody's business, and then fucking up a cult of psychopathic murderers. I imagine she'd want me to finish what we started."_

 _"If the murderers can wait, I think I need a drink, too," she said. "Mind if I join you?"_

 _Marco smiled a little. "Just like old times?"_

 _"Yeah. I think she'd like that."_

 _"Cool. It's a date then." Marco started walking towards the nearest village with a bar._

 _"How about I take us there?" Heckapoo revealed her scissors and tore open a red portal. She gestured Marco to step through. "Ladies first."_

 _Marco chuckled. He couldn't believe he was about to go drinking with the woman he swore vengeance on for ruining his life. It was a weird-ass day…_

 _Right before he stepped into the portal, he turned to Heckapoo and smiled at her._

 _"Thanks for everything, H-Poo."_

 _Heckapoo smiled back. "Don't call me that."_

 _"I wasn't talking to you."_


	26. Chapter 26: All the Same

"Um, Rafael, do you really think this is necessary?"

"Our son's safety? Yes, it's very necessary."

Marco felt the haze of unconsciousness lift a little. Were those his parents?

"Okay, but _bubblewrap_?"

"You know, I could always just loan you some Mewman armor. That'll do the trick right up! And then he won't look like a pansy!"

That was… River? Ugh, he had such a splitting headache.

"Armor is cold and hard. Bubblewrap is warm and caring. Now, where's the duct-tape?"

"We're _out_ of duct-tape, Rafael!"

He was… wrapped up in something...

"We'll just have to switch to masking tape and double-wrap it."

"You're ridiculous, he won't even be able to move!"

He… he _couldn't_ move. Oh god, he couldn't move!

"Then he won't be able to fall and hurt himself!"

Marco closed his eyes tighter and took a breath. Okay, okay, he couldn't move. Don't freak out...

"If the boy survived a Scissors Quest, I think he can take on the _ground_."

There was pressure against every part of his body.

 _Dirt._

 _He couldn't breathe. He couldn't move._

 _Where was she? She was supposed to dig him up before the spell wore off!_

 _Oh god, he was going to die. He was going to get suffocated by fucking dirt._

 _He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, oh god oh god._

"Marco?"

"Get it off me," Marco rasped in a moment of clarity. _He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe._

 **"Marco, get yourself out,"** Kar said, before returning into his arm. Kar had been wrapped up as well, so when he returned, Marco's arm finally had room to move.

Marco immediately started ripping the bubblewrap off himself with his now-free hand, and soon there were a several more hands helping him out.

In a matter of seconds, Marco was free again. Well, almost. There was still something on his head. Some sort of helmet. He lifted it off with shaky hands and threw it to the ground, where one of the tusks broke off the side of it.

Marco took a moment to try to breathe. He wasn't buried alive, he was just restrained.

Great. Two panic attacks in a row. Now he _really_ felt like a kid again. So much for people treating him like an adult.

"Are you okay?" his mom asked.

Marco nodded. "Y-yeah. I'm fine." He took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm fine."

"What caused that reaction? Did you get eaten by a monster?" River asked.

"No," Marco said. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it was just that. At least he'd be able to cut his way out of it. "I got buried alive once. It sucked."

"Yeesh," River said. "Never went through that one. That's pretty rough. Sorry."

Marco chuckled a little. "Heh, thanks." It was kind of nice that someone here got what was going on. It made him feel slightly more comfortable.

"King River!" Marco's dad said. "Have some respect for my son!"

"I did!" River put up his hands in defense. "I said sorry. Didn't you hear me?"

"Well, yes, but," Marco's mom said, "I think we should take this a little more seriously."

"Oh, of course!" River said. "But it's not like it's going to just go away. These things happen."

Marco's dad shook his head. "Well, if we-"

"No offense," Marco said. "But I've been trying to fix my shitty mental state for _years_ without luck. And I had a whole slew of magic at my disposal."

His parents looked at each other and sighed.

"I'm sorry," his mom said. "It's just… we wanted to help you, and this was the only way we knew how. If there's anything we can do to make you feel better…"

"Don't restrain me, for one," Marco said. His dad flinched.

"I'm so, so sorry, Marco," he said. "You always used to love getting wrapped up like that. It always made you feel safe. In fact, just a few months ago, we-" He stopped himself. "I mean, when you were a kid, you liked it a lot. I'm sorry. If we're ever going to do anything like that again, we'll ask you first."

Marco smiled. "Thanks."

 ** _'Your family is insane, what were they even doing with the bubblewrap?'_**

 _'They're kind of overcautious. I think it was for when we have flashbacks,'_ Marco thought. _'Thanks for helping me out back there, but you can come back out now.'_

 ** _'No thanks. I'll sit this one out for now. I don't want to startle River any more than I already have today. His bite is definitely worse than his bark.'_**

Marco didn't feel like arguing with that. His and Star's families were kind of intense to be around.

He did a look around the living room. Everything was still a mess from the fight this morning, but there wasn't any debris on the ground anymore. It was just him, his parents, and River.

"Where are Star and Moon?" Marco asked. He remembered he was in the middle of a conversation with Moon at the ice cream shop before passing out. How long was he out?

His mother answered first. "You fell into another flashback, so Moon brought you here so your father and I could look after you. River got dropped off about 10 minutes ago, and she's getting Star right now."

It was strange that Moon went to his parents first when Star knew a spell that could wake him up instantly. Then again, she probably didn't have much time to think it over.

"Do you need anything until they get back? Food or water? The TV is working if you remember what that is," his dad said.

His mom put a hand on Marco's shoulder. "Or… you can take it easy and rest in your room. Whatever makes you more comfortable."

Marco was about to jump on his mom's offer, but something about it didn't seem right. It'd feel like he was running away again. He sighed. It was time to own up to his mistakes.

"Guys, I'm… sorry for how I acted in front of everyone. It was shitty and petty of me. And I feel terrible for disappearing like that and making you all worry."

"Yeah you were pretty bad," River said bluntly. "But, all the same, Moon-Pie was a little harsh as well. We don't need to dwell on it."

"River is right. It was just a stressful morning. Besides, we all had outbursts like that when we were kids," Marco's dad said.

"That's the problem though," Marco said. "I'm _not_ a kid. I'm still almost thirty years old mentally and I threw a temper tantrum because I did a crappy job explaining everything to Moon. It's, I don't know, really embarrassing I did that."

His mom frowned and then said, "Just because you're, god, _thirty_ years old, doesn't mean you're mature."

Marco raised an eyebrow at her and said, "Gee, thanks."

"Oh, no, no, not like that. I just mean," she frowned and tried to gather her thoughts. "You didn't really have any sort of stable environment in that place, right? It was all crazy fantasy danger and fighting and horror and stuff, so you didn't really have a chance to actually mature."

Marco blinked. "Uh..."

"Not that I'm trying to psychoanalyze you or anything!" she said. "It's all just guesses. You're still a complete mystery to us, and we don't even know half of what happened there. We're just trying to figure out how to help you best along the way."

"That's, um, thanks…" Marco said. "And you're probably right about me not being mature. I was powerful, but holy hell do I make stupid decisions _all_ the time."

"No one expects you to be perfect, Marco," his dad said. "The very fact that you apologized afterwards, without the threat of being grounded, shows a lot of room for personal growth."

"Believe me," his mom said with a smile. "Our job is far from over."

"That is, if you still want to be here," his dad said.

"What?" Marco said. "Of course I do."

Both his parents sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness," his mom said.

Marco blinked. "Wait, did you think I wanted to move out?"

"Well, you said it yourself. You're thirty years old. We thought you might want to find your own place here on Earth."

"Yeah, we even looked up the emancipation process just in case," his dad said.

Marco had no idea what that was.

"We would have supported you either way, but you have no idea what a huge relief it is that you still want to live with us," his mom said.

"Well, I spent so long wandering by all myself-"

 ** _'With me'_**

 _'Shut up.'_

"But my whole reason for coming back to Earth in the first place was to be with you all again. I'm not about to let that go. Not for a while."

"By all means," his dad said. "Stay till you're thirty again. We really like having you around."

Marco smiled. This beat hiding in his room by a lot.

His parents both went up and wrapped Marco in a group hug. He held them both tight and smiled.

It was a nice moment, but then Marco saw something concerning.

River was sitting in an armchair holding a book sideways and dangling it from his hand while he tried to decipher the insides.

"Is that my diary?" Marco asked, pulling away from the hug.

"Oh, yes. It's a good read. Up until this gobbledygoop, at least." River held the book out, and the page was covered in crudely written Riradesh, from when Marco was first getting the hang of the language.

Marco got up and snatched the book from his hands. "You didn't actually read it, right?"

"Oh, yes. It had me on the edge of this comfy seat. I almost didn't know if you'd survive certain parts!"

Holy shit. "But, the english section is at least fifty pages long!" Did he actually just find out everything that happened to him in his first few years?

"Us Johansen's are fast readers. It's an underappreciated, subtle trait of the clan," River said. "I like the fancy drawing language though. Very stylish!"

"It's called Riradesh," Marco said, still kind of reeling in the fact that River just read his personal thoughts, even if it was from a decade and a half ago.

"Hm. Never heard of it."

"You wouldn't have," Marco said.

River thought about it for a moment and then shrugged and said, "Yes, I suppose you're right." And then just started walking off to the kitchen, like he hadn't done anything wrong.

"I-ugh," Marco said, not even sure how to express his annoyance without blowing up again.

"I'm sorry," Marco's mom said. "We should have put that back after Star used it to convince Moon. If it makes you feel any better, we didn't read any. Moon's the only one who looked inside."

"Well, and River," his dad added.

Marco put his face in his hands. "Ugh, this sucks."

"Like, there-was-some-embarrassing-things-in-there sucks, or I-have-to-rewind-time-again sucks?" his dad asked.

Oh yeah, his parents knew about the rewind ritual. It was getting hard to keep track of who knew what. "Just embarrassment," Marco said. "Most of the English part was when I was first dating Allion."

"Awe, how cute," his mom said.

"I wouldn't exactly say it was 'cute'," Marco said. "I, uh, really got into the _details_." He opened it up and started flipping through the back end of the book. He had always gotten into the specifics in his entries, whether it was moments on the battlefield or in a bed. He knew which pages had the more "fun" entries, because they were more worn from rereading. That excluded the ones about Allion or the guild, though. After everything that happened, he couldn't bear to go back and reread them…

"Oh, uh, we'll make sure not to read them," his mom said, her face bright red.

Marco flipped to the front of the book and frowned.

He couldn't read it. Right. It was in English. Duh.

It was such an odd feeling not being able to read something he wrote.

"How long have you had that?" his dad asked, pulling Marco out of his own thoughts.

"Pretty much the whole quest. Toza gave it to me right after I blew out my first flame. He wanted me to practice Riradesh in it, but I just turned it into a diary."

"Wow," his mom said. "You've had it all that time?"

"Oh. Definitely not. I've lost this thing more times than I can count. Sometimes it took me months or even years to get it back," Marco said, smiling down at the leatherbound book. "There's a lot of time skips in there."

Speaking of time skips, he hadn't even written anything about completing the quest or being back on Earth yet. That is, if he was gonna bother adding to it at all.

Marco skipped to the very last page of his diary. He stared at the final bit of Riradesh he had written before eventually confronting Hekapoo. In a way, the penmanship there was even worse than his earliest attempts at the language.

 _Date: I forgot how many days it's been since the last entry, so whatever. Time has lost all meaning here._

 _I'll be honest, Diary, I'm at my wit's end. Not sure how long I can keep this up. Nachos got tired again and she's taking another nap. She's been taking it like a champ though, since she's been limiting it to about two hours each day._

 _But goddamn, every single time, those two hours feel like an eternity. I just keep pacing back and forth and I can feel myself losing it. I guess I could do more writing in here to pass the time, but what is there to say?_

 _'Hey, saw another tree. It was purple and ugly. Oh shit! Was that a rock!? No wait, just another tree…'_

 _Heckapoo really did pick the perfect hiding spot. If it wasn't for the Barrier Ritual, getting to her might've been impossible. Leaving this place alive is still up in the air though._

 _I'm so exhausted. I'm scared I won't remember to purify the food or cover my tracks or renew the ritual in time._

 _Wouldn't it just be the funniest shit if I died from forgetting to purify my food? And this late in the game…_

 _I think I'm losing it a little. Kar's keeping up conversation, but if I don't finish this soon-_

 _I don't really want to think about it._

 _I can't keep writing. My hands are shaking too much. I keep dropping the quill._

 ** _'You got really fucked up toward the end,'_ **Kar thought.

 _'Yeah_ ,' Marco thought. It was a good thing he didn't have to actually fight Heckapoo, or he wouldn't have gotten the scissors.

"It looks like you ran out of space," his Mom said, pointing at the last page.

"Huh?" Marco said, and then realized what she meant. "Oh. No, it's magic. It can never run out of room. It makes a new page whenever I feel like adding more to it. In theory, it could go on forever."

"That would be one big book," his dad said.

"It's already a big book," his mom said.

Marco looked down at his diary and frowned. They were right. Just looking at the sheer size of his own chronicles was kind of daunting, and it wasn't like it had _everything_ in it.

This book was the difference between Marco before the quest and how he was now.

"... Mom, Dad," Marco said, "I'm sorry."

"Marco, you don't have to apologize again for the-"

"No. I mean… I'm sorry you lost your son and all you got was a shitty, dysfunctional replacement."

"Marco, we never lost our son," his mom said.

"You can't say I'm the same Marco I was before the quest. That kid is gone forever."

"You're right here," his dad said.

" _I_ might be here, but you'll never get your old son back. You were right, Mom, I am a mystery to you. I'm a complete stranger that you have to take care of now."

"You might be different now, but you're still the same Marco," his dad said.

"Exactly," his mom said. "You're still the same _person_ , you just have a little more… _trauma._ "

Marco looked back at his diary. He knew they were lying to make him feel better. Why did he even bring this up? His parents were too caring to tell him how they really felt.

"Angie! Did you see that?" his dad said, tapping on his wife's shoulder.

"What?" Marco asked.

"Yeah. There's no mistaking it. That right there was classic Marco." His mom smiled wide.

"I'm sorry?" Marco said.

 ** _'How did you survive fourteen years with these lunatics, Marco?'_**

Marco felt like he was missing some inside joke between him and his parents.

"When we found out about what happened, we had the same concerns you do, so we kept an eye on how you acted. We've been watching for you to do any nervous ticks you were famous for. Ticks you've had since you were a toddler. That's how we'd know you're our son," his mom said.

His dad nodded. "Everytime you're in an uncomfortable conversation, you tend to face the other way or stare at whatever you're holding." He pointed at the diary.

Were they serious? "Guys, hate to break it to you, but _a lot_ of people do that. That isn't unique behavior at all. It's as human as you can get." Hell, not just human, _anything_ sentient that is capable of feeling discomfort.

"Oh! There's another one! The I-can't-believe-I-have-to-explain-this look of condescension. The position of the eyebrows are exactly the same!" His mom was beaming.

"Oh… sorry. I didn't mean to come off that way. It's just-"

Marco's hand was grabbed by his dad. "And look! Whenever you realize you may have hurt someone's feelings, you take precisely one step back with you right foot and softly clench your fists."

"Well, to be fair, Kar is controlling one of my hands so I don't think that cou-"

"Your eyes dart back and forth whenever you lie!" his mom said playfully.

"Oh come on! I just looking between the two of you!"

"And those horizontal lines on your forehead when you're frustrated!"

"I-I…"

 ** _'You stutter your speech when you feel cornered.'_**

"Kar. N-not you too…"

"And you have this little spot," his dad said.

"Oh right, I almost forgot about it!" his mom said.

Marco had no idea what they were talking about-

"Right… here," his dad said, reaching behind him before he could react, and putting a finger against a spot right under his shoulder blade. Marco yelped and simultaneously realized it was a tickle spot.

Shit.

Marco instinctively backed away from his parents. He was seconds away from yelping like a girl.

"Guys! I get what you're trying to do, and I really appreciate it, but even if I have the same physiological responses as the old Marco, it doesn't mean that much."

"Yes, but-"

Marco held out his hand up to stop them. "I tried, you know? I tried so hard to be 'Marco' in that place. If I was gonna win this quest, I wanted to do it as myself. I was determined to stay the same. I wouldn't let those cynical assholes in the guild push me down to their level. But Marco wouldn't survive any more than a few years, so I had to get rid of him. I had to become someone else there. I had to do things Marco would never do."

"Of course you did, Honey. We don't blame you for that," his mom said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Marco looked up into her eyes. "No, you don't understand."

"It's because you've killed people, right?" she said.

Marco froze. Oh god. They knew. How did they… "Star told you?"

Her eyebrows shot up, like she wasn't quite prepared to be right. "Uh, no. We just kind of reasoned it out."

"You said when you time travelled you spooked us with something out of context, and there aren't too many things that could do that," his dad said.

Marco looked between them. He didn't really know what to say. This whole time they had already assumed the worst.

"Marco, it's okay," his mom said, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly.

"I… uh… I'm sorry for not telling you," Marco said, still desperately searching for words.

"Marco, we don't expect you to tell us everything."

"And we know you had to, or you wouldn't."

"You don't know that." For all they knew, he had turned into a crazed murderer who ran around pillaging villages and killing witnesses.

"Did you do it for fun?" his dad asked.

"What? No! Of course not!"

"Then you did it to save people and defend yourself, right?" his mom asked.

"I, uh, yeah."

"Then it's okay! And we're proud of you."

"Proud of me for killing people?"

"For saving people, silly!" his dad said.

"You're making this too simple," Marco said.

"And you're making it too complicated," his mom said.

 ** _'She's right, you know. Stop trying to give them reasons to hate you when there aren't any.'_** Marco's arm went numb, probably to drive his point in.

"I'm not making it complicated. It _is_ complicated," Marco said.

"Marco, how many people have you saved?"

"That's not the point-"

 **"Five thousand, one hundred, and forty seven,"** Kar said, from a mouth formed on Marco's arm.

There was a moment where both his parents were just staring at Marco's arm, and the mouth disappeared as fast as it had formed.

"Is that true?" his dad said.

"Uh, Kar's been keeping track for a while. It's not 4.3 million, but it's a start," Marco said.

"Oh, _just_ five thousand people?" his mom said. "Do you know how ridiculous you sound?"

"I…"

Before Marco could say anything else, his mom trapped him in her embrace. "It's okay to feel bad about what you did. Anyone would, but we aren't going to judge you for it. We weren't there. We don't know what happened."

Marco was still holding his diary. "That's my fault though. Back at the hospital, I gave you guys the most abridged explanation of those sixteen years I could make."

"To be fair, it sounds like it would've taken hours to give us a less-abridged version," his dad said.

"And you were still uncomfortable with everything and we all felt like strangers, right?" his mom said.

"Yeah, I guess when you put it that way…"

"Don't worry about it. When you feel comfortable enough, you can tell us bit by bit. It doesn't have to all be in a day. We'll wait."

"Are you sure? Can you really live with me, knowing all this, but not have any of the specifics? It doesn't bother you one bit?"

"What about Star? She knows, right? It doesn't look like she has treated you any different."

"Well, it's not like I gave her much detail either. I only explained the one death that was out of context. Besides that, she knows just as much as you two."

His mom looked at him. She placed a hand on his cheek. "And that's okay. We know for a fact that you did everything in that dimension with the best intentions. Just knowing that you saved so many people shows that. A man who put others before himself, even if it meant doing the unthinkable. That's Marco Diaz. That's our son. That's you, and we couldn't be more proud."

Marco smiled. "Thanks. That really means a lot, actually." He held his mom tighter and his dad joined in. His grasp on the diary loosened and it hit the floor.

He squeezed them and put his face against his mom's shoulder. It was such an unfamiliar feeling, having people there for him like this. He'd always had Kar, but that wasn't the same as his parents, or as his friends, or Star. I was just so…

He missed it. He missed it so much.

Then Marco heard clapping.

It was River by the kitchen entrance. There were subtle traces of tears in his eyes.

Everyone turned to face him.

He had heard everything.

Marco sighed. Whatever.

"That was beautiful! I wish I had this sort of family bonding when I was growing up. The closest thing me and my brothers had were a few rounds of punching the Feelings Meat!"

Marco slowly pulled away from the hug and laughed a little.

"That's not a very healthy lifestyle," Marco's dad said.

"It explains some things, at least," his mom said.

"Don't doubt the power of the Feelings Meat. It's a fantastic thing to punch!" River said defensively.

Marco was about to make a snide remark, but was interrupted by the familiar sound of a portal opening.

He whipped around just in time to see Star hop out and spin in the air before she landed roughly on the floor.

Then, their eyes met and an intense string of emotions danced across her face before he could recognise any of them.

"Marco!" she said, running up to him and grabbing his arm. Then, she pulled his arm and started running toward the stairs to his bedroom. "Let's go!"

"Uh, ok?" Marco said, letting her drag him and following her up the stairs. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Moon exiting the portal before Marco was pulled into his room.

Star slammed the door behind them and then faced him.

Marco stared at her for a moment, while she took a deep breath.

Then, without any more hesitation, she punched him in the face and knocked him to the ground.

"Ow, fuck!" He tasted a little blood in his mouth. Yeah, he probably deserved that.

"What were you thinking, Marco?"

"I wasn't," he said truthfully. He started to get up.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him up into a hug. "I was so worried!"

A little whip-lashed, he awkwardly stood there until she pulled back.

"Sorry for punching you, I was just _so_ angry at you, and I didn't want to stay angry, so I had to get it all out at once."

"So you made me the Feelings Meat," he said with a chuckle. It felt like all his teeth were still in tact, so nothing was permanently damaged.

"What?" she asked. "Marco, I don't have time for your Heckapoo's-Dimension-references."

"Actually, Star, its-"

"We have to pack," she said, cutting him off.

Wait. What? "Are we going on the run?" Did the High Commission find out about him already? Were they going to hide from them? He actually had a ritual that could-

"No! We're going to Mewni. To fix you up."


	27. Chapter 27: Room of Killers

_'The fuck is she saying?'_

At first Kar'Magorach wasn't sure if Marco was asking him directly, or if it was just yet another case of the guy being internally pissed. Of course, Kar didn't have the answer to that question, so it stood to reason that it was the latter.

He kept his mouth shut and awaited Marco's response to Star.

"Wait, so now we have to go to Mewni to fix the memory spell? Why?" Marco asked, barely hiding his annoyance.

 _'Are there some ingredients we need there? Does the wand even need ingredients?'_ Marco thought to himself.

Huh. That was actually a decent question, but Marco didn't think it was important enough to ask out loud. Kar was always the garbage can for the questions Marco never asked and the ideas he never presented. That asshole liked to overthink everything he said.

Still… did Star's wand need _anything_ to do spells? Did it just run off teenage metabolism?

Despite Kar himself being a product of the wand, he had no idea how it worked, which always felt… weird. He knew he was a demon curse, so in a way he knew what he was made of- some sinful souls and the right amount of dark magic. The wand obviously had the magic, but how did it provide the souls? Was it able to skip that ingredient, or was the wand powerful enough to create some sort of alternative energy that acted the same way?

Kar got skimped on the soul-seeing, an attribute that all demons have, so maybe he wasn't even a real demon? That could also explain how Kar was able to grow from being a murderous plague to a pretty decent guy, if he said so himself.

Ah yes, it's not like he actually changed for the better of his own free will. Nah, that was just the kittens and rainbows inside him taking control. No effort needed on his part!

That train of thought certainly wasn't going to bother him all night!

"Oh. Why?" _'...are we making this more difficult than it has to be!'_

Oops. Kar got distracted and missed what Star said, but her explanation apparently was too vague for Marco to be satisfied. That girl had a habit of saying stuff out of the blue, and would expect you to not only understand what she was talking about, but to go along with it without question. Truly a monarch in the making.

He could sense Star by Marco's bed, folding Marco's ugly clothes. So she was already packing, huh?

"We talked about it over ice cream," Star said. "Mom thinks that I need to take responsibility for recklessly casting the memory spell on you. And since it was my own spell to begin with, I have a better chance of fixing it than she does."

 _'I guess that makes sense. Good on Moon for trying to teach you a lesson instead of simply punishing you, Star. But does this have to be at my own expense?'_ Marco thought.

"And we're going to Mewni because that way Mom can still do her job while we try to fix the spell. You'll have guards watching over you so someone is there to catch you if you have a flashback."

 _'Couldn't I just stay here while you figure out the stupid spell? Do I really need to be dragged away from my family yet again?'_ Marco thought. "Um… wow! That sounds great, Star. Really thoughtful of your mom," he said. _'This suuuuuuuuuuucks.'_

"Alright! Cool!" Star said. "And don't mind me, I'm just packing your things for you, since you probably don't remember your room that well. If you see anything cool, though, we can take it with us." She kept going from Marco's dresser to his bed, adding more and more to the needlessly big pile of clothing. How many days was this going to take?

"Are we in that much of a hurry?" Marco asked. _'This is happening way too fast. You didn't even ask if I was okay with this, Star."_

"Mom said it'd be best if we leave today. And, also, I really really wanna undo that spell! After that I can finally start helping you with Earth stuff again!"

 _'What does Moon really want out of this? Does she want me on a tight leash now that I know the truth about Earth? Does she consider me too dangerous to leave alone?'_ Marco thought.

"I... suppose I'll start getting ready," he said, in a defeated tone.

Marco walked over to to a shelf and just stood there. He used his right hand to grab a strange object. It had a human shape to it but the arms and legs were much bigger than its torso. It reminded Kar of the silver golems that he and Marco fought on the Bhurtip mountains, but they weren't as elaborate in design as this toy. Marco tried his best to remember what this character was from, but he couldn't.

The shelf was stuffed with toys, books, and pictures, but Marco just stared at them with a cold indifference.

Kar and Marco only carried the bare essentials with them when they were in Heckapoo's dimension. The only things they kept without a specific purpose were Marco's journal and his old, dirty hoodie. The journal was useful as both an emotional outlet (Marco would rather write his feelings on paper than talk them out with real people) and a reminder- of where they'd been and what they'd learned. As for the hoodie- well, Kar would never question Marco wanting to keep his last remnant of Earth.

It was different in this dimension. Everyone had so much _crap_. He noted the stupid decorations littered around Marco's living room and the closet filled with hoodies. Not to mention the stupid figures on his shelves and windows. Kar would _love_ to see Marco play with those dolls now. Honestly, if 99% of this room got destroyed in an tornado, Marco probably wouldn't mind that much.

 _'I can't remember any of this shit. None of these things mean anything to me,'_ Marco thought, putting the toy back.

Oh yeah, right. Marco was "packing" for Mewni.

 ** _'You're such a little pushover.'_**

 _'Excuse me?'_

 ** _'If you're so against the idea of going to Mewni, then just tell her. Have Moon fix the damn spell herself so we can get on with our lives'_**

 _'But Star looks so happy about it.'_

 ** _'She's happy about it cause she thinks you're cool with it, but if you keep bottling up your frustration, your resentment will start showing, to the point where even the socially moronic Star can tell you're pissed. Then how will she feel?'_**

 _'I, look, Star still blames herself for what happened to me, no matter how much I tell her not to. If she can be the one to fix this spell and then help me get back to speed-'_

 ** _'No, it won't make up for her holding contraband and letting you take the fall for it. Even if we do go through with this, she'd only be fixing her separate mess-up of casting the memory spell on you without permission.'_**

It took Marco a few seconds to come up with a response. _'She didn't know those scissors were stolen, Kar.'_

 ** _'Oh, so it was okay for her to blindly take such a powerful tool without questioning it? And then it was okay for her to treat said tool like a fucking toy for a year?'_**

 _'...'_

 ** _'Tell me, when you borrowed the scissors from her that day, did she even tell you how to use them?"_**

 _'It wasn't necessary; we'd been going on adventures with them for a while.'_

 ** _'Did she tell you it's illegal to open more than seven portals at once? Did she tell you how if you're not careful, the portal could close on a limb and slice it right off? Did she tell you how you could end up in a dimension that kills you if your mind isn't specific enough?'_**

 _'What are you getting at?'_

 ** _'It's okay if you aren't mad at her for what she did, but pretending it's something that can be cleared from her conscience with a few kind gestures is stupid. She's going to have to live with her mistake for the rest of her life, knowing how close you came to dying in those eight minutes. You're aware of that, right?'_**

 _'It **isn't**_ _her fault! I went on that quest. I-'_

 ** _'-was the one who decided to face Heckapoo? And why's that? Because you wanted to replace Star's scissors. Scissors that didn't belong to her in the first place.'_**

"Marco? Are you okay?" Star said, still kneeling by his bed.

"It's nothing. I'm fine. Just figuring out what I want to bring from this shelf."

"Oh. Okay then!" Star looked back at the clothes she was folding.

 ** _'Why are you lying to her again?'_**

 _'Can we please stop talking about Star while she's in the same room as us? Moon was right, it is pretty rude.'_

 ** _'Would you rather I come out there and we can talk about it_** _with **her?'**_

 _'No! Don't say anything, please,'_ Marco thought. _'I don't want her to feel worse. I don't want her to hate herself anymore.'_

 ** _'If you wait till later to tell her, she'll only hate herself more.'_**

 _'You weren't supposed to hear that part,'_ Marco thought. _'Can you please stop listening in on my thoughts?'_

 ** _'I would if I could,'_** Kar thought. **_'But I can't, so, as always, I get to sit here all day while you play Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes out there and then hear you bitch about it in your head.'_**

 _'I don't-'_

 ** _'I don't want to hear your pussy ass excuses, and I don't_** _care **about whether you think you're a cynical asshole or not. We're getting off topic.'**_

 _'I'm not going to make Star feel bad, Kar.'_

 ** _'So then you get to 'feel bad' instead? As much as you hate to call yourself this, you are a_** _victim **of these shitty circumstances.'**_

 _'I'm not-'_

 ** _'No, let me finish. Someone stole Heckapoo's scissors. They gave those scissors to Star, and no one talked about where they came from. Star kept those scissors and then loaned them to you with no instruction. And then apparently even Heckapoo was acting out of line by offering you that quest without telling you any of the specifics! You got fucked in the ass by a gang of bad events,'_ **Kar thought. **_'And I know you want to say it's your fault for dropping the soap, but no amount of soap-dropping would be that bad without that gang at your back.'_**

Marco was trying his best to keep his cool. Kar could feel the strain on him as he desperately tried to cling to the idea that Star could do no wrong.

 _'She's just a kid, Kar.'_

 ** _'So were you. A kid that had to struggle to survive in an unforgiving dimension. By her age, most Rumans were living on their own, fending for themselves. Don't treat her like a baby. Especially when she's a queen-in-training with a powerful death-weapon. She's dealing with powerful shit and she has to realize that her mistakes can hurt people. Make her take responsibility for her own actions. Help her grow as a person.'_**

Marco took a long, deep breath. _'Okay, fine. Maybe I have been going a little easy on her. But what am I supposed to do? She's already technically helping me by doing this.'_

 ** _'Just talk to her. If she wants to help you so badly, have it be on your terms, not theirs. If you don't want to go to Mewni, then tell her that. If you'd rather have Moon fix the spell sooner rather than wait for Star to do it, then just say so. Even if it doesn't work out, don't bitch and moan about leaving without trying to find an alternative.'_**

Marco sighed. _'Alright. I'll talk to her… later.'_

 ** _'No, she's packing your clothes! There is no 'later'. Talk to her now.'_** Kar sensed Star moving closer to them. He wondered just how much Marco's senses had dulled from going into a kid-body that he didn't even notice her.

"Marco?" Star asked from right behind them. Marco jumped and turned around to look at her.

"Oh! Uh, hey," he said. _'Shit, that scared me...'_

"What's wrong?" she asked, more concerned now than before.

 ** _'Tell her,'_** Kar thought.

"Um. I'm fine. Still looking through this shelf, you know?" Marco said, grabbing the same toy he was fiddling with before, as if that would fool Star somehow.

 ** _'What the fuck did I just say?'_**

 _'I have to figure out how to word it to her.'_

Star inched closer. "Did you have a flashback or something? Is that why you're acting so weird?"

 ** _''Hey Star, I wanted to talk to you. I actually don't want to go to Mewni. I'm also a little bitch who can't talk to a girl.' There you go. I did all the wording for you.'_**

Marco was beginning to sweat. "No, I, uh, I was sort of spacing out."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Star said, completely ignoring the fact that Marco told her it was nothing.

Marco frowned and turned back to the shelf, contemplating it.

In annoyance, Kar seized control of Marco's right arm.

 ** _'Talk to her, or I'll make you do really embarrassing things with your hand,'_ **Kar threatened.

A million possible outcomes of what Kar meant raced through Marco's head, none of which were things he wanted Star to see… or be a part of. Kar internally smirked.

Star sighed. "Okay..." she said, turning to go back to the bed.

Without a moment's thought, Kar reached out and grabbed her hand to stop her.

Star turned around and looked down at their entwined hands.

 _'Shit,'_ Marco thought.

Kar could feel Marco's attempts to regain control of his arm, but Kar wasn't about to let go any time soon. He was doing this whether he wanted to or not.

 _'Her hand is so soft,'_ Marco thought, most likely to himself rather than to Kar. He was right, though. Most of the people they interacted with had hands covered in calluses and scars and dirt. Her hand had a few, but nothing compared to what they were used to.

"Marco?" Star asked, starting to blush, but still just as confused.

 _'Oh god oh god oh god.'_ Marco swallowed uncomfortably. _'She's gonna misinterpret this. She's gonna think I'm a creep, she's gonna-'_

 ** _'Not to mention the fact that you're shirtless and sweaty.'_ **Of course, Kar could tell from a mile away that Star had the hots for Marco, but watching Marco squirm around about it was the funniest shit since the Afuobadi Dam incident, and that involved _literal_ shit.

Marco looked down at his bare chest and blushed. _'Oh god that makes it even worse.'_

 ** _'If only there was some kind of way to stop this awkward silence…'_**

It apparently just dawned on Marco that it was actually a little too long of a silence and his face turned redder.

 ** _'Talk to her!'_**

Marco nodded, a fraction of an inch, and then said, like there hadn't been an awkward moment, "Star, I, uh, yeah, I want to talk about it. I want to talk about a lot of things, actually."

Kar internally smirked and gave control back to Marco, not that he would tell him yet.

Star nodded back.

"Okay," she said.

All the attention in the world was on Marco, who took a deep breath. "I, uh, I don't want to go to Mewni. I don't want to leave my family and friends behind again for god knows how long just so you can learn to fix your own spell. Why can't Moon just fix me right now?"

Star thought about it for a moment. "I told you, I was the one who cast the spell in the first place, which means I have a better chance at fixing it than she does."

"But what does that even mean?" Marco asked. "Why would _you_ have a better chance at fixing it than her? I used to undo other people's magic all the time, and there's plenty of times where people fixed _my_ fuck-ups."

Star frowned.

"And maybe reversing the spell isn't even the best solution. Maybe we just need to edit it," Marco said. "All I'm saying is that we should just get your mom to fix it, and she can come up with some other way to train you how to undo your own spells. Or maybe you can just watch her fix it and then copy her. Either way, it shouldn't warrant an entire trip to Mewni that I have to pack all my stuff for."

Star didn't respond quite yet, but Kar imagined she was disappointed with her best friend telling her that he'd rather have someone more competent fix her spell. Her grip on Marco's hand was loosening.

"What do you mean 'edit the spell'?" Star asked, probably trying to change the subject before she felt too bad about it.

 _'Here goes nothing.'_ Marco thought. "I mean only get rid of the bad parts. Having random flashbacks and passing out sucks, but I've also been reliving memories in my sleep. I want to keep that part, if that's possible." Oh yeah, now that Kar thought about it, that would be fucking awesome!

Star narrowed her eyes at him like he had just said the most confusing thing in the world and she was trying to figure out if he was an imposter. "Uh, why?"

"I'd rather be in my memories than in my dreams," Marco said. That, and at least Kar had a little bit of say in flashbacks. Nightmares were just a shithole for both of them.

"But aren't your memories pretty much all cruddy?" she said, and then snapped her mouth shut. She was probably trying to not be offensive about it. "I mean, like, a bunch of terrible stuff happened to you, right? Why would you want to relive _any_ of it?"

"Not everything was bad," Marco said. "Most of it was pretty okay, actually, but my brain has a way of making the bad memories a lot worse than they were."

Star quirked an eyebrow at him and Marco realized he'd have to explain it a little better. Kar readied himself. This was going to be good.

"Like, say a villager got killed by a Redrifire in front of me," Marco said nonchalantly. "In reality, they'd be eaten alive in one bite before I could do anything, but when I dream about it, they're screaming my name and slowly torn apart piece by piece while I watch."

Star's jaw dropped a little and she tightened her grip on Marco's hand. If Kar could die from laughter, he would.

 ** _'Fucking smooth.'_ **Why bring a girl to a horror showing if you could just scare her with your life story?

 _'Shit, did I freak her out?'_

 ** _'I think she's just surprised you said it so calmly.'_ **Mewni, from what Kar understood, was almost as dangerous as Heckapoo's dimension. Star would have seen someone eaten alive, but she was probably used to Marco freaking out at the drop of a hat, let alone a head.

"Gotcha," Star said, her posture already loosening. "I'll definitely ask Mom if we can do that."

Marco smiled. "Thanks," he said.

 ** _'See? Was that so hard?'_** Kar asked. Marco always made everything more difficult than it had to be.

Marco seemed to specifically _not_ answer Kar, which Kar took as an admission of guilt.

"Should I go ask right now?" Star asked.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, that's a good idea," Marco said.

Star glanced down at their entwined hands and Marco realized that was the reason she had even asked instead of just leaving.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Marco said, pulling his arm away.

Star chuckled a little. "It's okay," she said. She started walking towards the door and Kar realized that if this didn't work out, they wouldn't have another one-on-one conversation for a while, what with the guards or whoever around.

Kar had to take his shot now, or he'd miss it! He pulled himself to the surface and formed his body.

 **"Hey, Star, wait!"** Kar said.

Star whipped around to face him.

"Kar, what the fuck?" Marco asked. _'Did I miss something?'_

 ** _'This isn't about the memory spell,'_ **Kar thought to him.

"What's wrong?" Star asked.

 **"I, uh, I was hoping to ask you a favor. You know, while you're still in a possibly giving mood."**

 _'What's wrong, are you hungry or something?'_ Marco thought. Now that Kar thought about it, he _was_ pretty hungry, but that was a problem for later. He needed to get this out now.

"Um, okay?" Star said, raising an eyebrow.

 **"Listen, there's a lot on your plate right now, so feel free to say no to this, but, uh,"** Kar said. **"Could you… make me a body?"**

"What?" Star asked.

"What," Marco said. _'This really isn't the time, Kar.'_

 ** _'If she's going to flat out say no to me, I want to get it over with,'_ **Kar thought, and then said, **"A body. Like, arms, legs, a torso maybe. You know, the shit you guys take for granted."**

"Is that even possible?" Star asked.

 **"I mean, you made sentient life with that wand. A body seems like a piece of cake by comparison."**

 _'It isn't that easy and you know it.'_

Star frowned. "I don't exactly have the best track record with spells. Most of them end up in disaster."

 **"Point taken."**

"Star, that's not-"

 **"Marco, don't be a suck up. I kind of have to agree with her. I've only seen like four of her spells, but one of them turned everything in a dojo into hands, one made us pass out every few hours, and one of them murdered a bunch if people. That's actually a pretty bad track record."**

Star swallowed uncomfortably and bit her lip.

"But, her wake up spell-"

 **"25% accuracy is still really bad, Marco."**

"You weren't brainwashed, were you?" Star said, like she'd been holding this question in for a long time.

 **"What?"** Kar wasn't sure what she was talking about, or why she suddenly changed the subject.

"When you and Marco… when you killed Toza." Oh. So _that_ was what she meant. Of course that'd been on her mind since Marco told her. Now was as good a time as any to talk about it, anyway.

 _'Kar, don't-'_

 **"No, I wasn't brainwashed. I killed Toza in cold blood and I ate him afterward. He wasn't the first or last person I did that to, either,"** Kar said. He wasn't about to play Marco and sugarcoat everything. She deserved to know. **"I was _evil_ , Star. I didn't care about people's lives or feelings. I just wanted to eat, and the Elesh Court gave me an opportunity to without repercussions. I just had to lie to Marco and keep him and his stupid morals from defecting."**

Star looked like she was torn between crying and punching Kar. If she did, he wouldn't complain. He definitely deserved it. Marco turned his body so that he was between them, just in case, though.

"He didn't know any better, Star," Marco said. "But he learned better." _'Kar, shut the fuck up-'_

 **"Don't defend me. It was a shitty thing I did and I'll have to live with it forever, just like how Star will have to live with our quest,"** Kar said. **"It's not as simple as excusing it away. No matter how many people I save, it'll never be Toza. It'll never _actually_ make up for it."**

A heavy silence fell on the room, so Kar took it as reason to continue.

 **"You have to learn that, Star. Everything you feel guilt for now, it'll always be there. It may fade away little by little, but no grand actions will fix your fuck ups. You have to fucking live by that logic, because you have the most powerful weapon in existence _and_ you're going to rule an entire kingdom one day. You're _lucky_ that Marco survived his quest. Make your choices carefully from now on so you don't have too many things weighing your conscience down."**

The silence continued for a long moment, but Kar had already said everything he needed to. He might not get a body out of it, but the least he could do is stop unnecessary accidents and tragedies. And maybe later, when Star finally realized how much she wanted to get rid of Kar, she'd make him a body.

Finally, Star broke the silence and said, "I killed a unicorn." It was barely above a whisper, but it rang out clearly through the air.

"What?" Marco asked.

"The whispering spell. When I destroyed the wand, I killed the unicorn inside it. I think I might have to live with that for my whole life, too…" Star looked over at the wand resting on Marco's bed, next to his clothes.

She looked so conflicted, like she was questioning if she was still a good person despite her actions. She must not have thought too much about it, when it happened, and this was it coming full force back to haunt her.

"Unicorns are the purest, nicest things in the universe, and I killed one without a second thought. I think that might be my Toza?"

Kar didn't really know what to say. He didn't want to say she was right, because it all depended on her own conscience, but he wanted to make her feel better. He felt like if he comforted her, he'd be contradicting himself, but he didn't want to say nothing, so he said, **"It might be. But at least it was only one?"**

"For fuck's sake, Kar," Marco said, dragging his free hand down his face.

Star chuckled a little, but her eyes were still kind of distant and contemplative.

"I just couldn't let him kill you. I would've done anything Toffee asked in that moment."

A dozen images of Marco almost getting crushed to death and then an explosion so powerful that it wiped out a castle flitted through Marco's head, like a little movie for Kar to watch.

Of course, Kar'd seen most of it already. Before Marco got buried alive, it was his go-to claustrophobia flashback.

Star looked like she was going to cry with the realization that she was a bad person.

"Star, it was a one-time thing and you did it to save a life. It's not like you're a crazy unicorn-murderer running around killing them for fun," Marco said, desperately trying to comfort someone who was just realizing they'd killed something, without just straight up telling them that killing was okay sometimes.

"But if it came down to it, I would do it again and again," Star said. "If I was put in the same situation, and your head was going to get crushed, I would do it the same way, in a heartbeat. I would murder an innocent unicorn, just like that. Sounds pretty crazy to me."

"It's not crazy. That's just how it works," Marco said.

Star looked at Marco and it was like she completely understood him for the first time since he came back. Then, with the full force of her realization, she pulled Marco and Kar into a tight hug.

That was definitely not what Kar was expecting. Nor did he expect Star to release a sob into Marco's shoulder, and her snot to wipe off a bit on Kar. It had gotten way too emotional out of seemingly nowhere, but maybe that was just the way it worked.

"I'm sorry," Star said.

 **"It's okay, mucus really mixes well with my natural slime,"** Kar said, not really sure what else to say.

Star chuckled and then let out another sob. "No, I'm sorry for the quest. I'm sorry I made you guys go through all that."

Kar could feel the conflict in Marco's head. He wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay, that he didn't blame her, that it wasn't her fault. But those were lies, so he just hugged her tighter and said, "I know."

They held to the hug for a long time, and Star sobbed into their shoulder. She had apparently needed to get a lot out, and she didn't have an omnipresent co-host in her body to talk to, so they just stood there for a while until her sobs quieted.

Eventually, Star said, "You're my best friend in the whole entire universe."

Marco rubbed her back gently. "You're my best friend, too."

"And you're my favorite _spell_ in the universe," she said, pulling Kar closer against her.

 **"Wait, what?"** Kar asked, his brain searching for _any_ other spell she could be referring to.

"Oh, come on. You saved Marco's life like a million times _and_ you helped everyone deal with their problems? You're like the best spell ever."

Kar froze. She _didn't_ hate him? He'd never even considered it. Not only was he an evil curse gone wrong, he was also an annoying asshole who butt into people's lives and made everything difficult. Not to mention he was also one of Star's biggest magical mistakes.

He didn't know how to process what must have felt like a mom finally admitting she was proud of her son. It was way too overwhelming at once, and he felt like his insides would explode.

"From the bottom of my heart, Kar'Margaack, thank you for bringing Marco home," Star said.

He'd correct her on the name later, it was close enough.

 **"Thank _you_ ,"** he said, a bit of a mumble, and hugged her a little tighter. Kar didn't have tear ducts, but if he did…

Well, he'd just have to ask for some when he finally got his body.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** AHA you all thought we were dead, didn't you! Sorry to disappoint!

All joking aside, We (GradeASexual and his fiance, the cowriter) are really sorry for how long this chapter took to come out, as well as the small length of the chapter itself. We all had very crazy things going on in life and at work, and had opposite schedules to each other, so we were only seeing each other for a few hours each week and Habit wasn't always on our top priority during those few hours, so it was just a recipe for disaster, not to mention the fact that we completely scrapped and rewrote the chapter we said we split from, and then scrapped and rewrote a second time later.

We also spent a lot of that time really figuring out what's to come down the line, so expect some cool things!

We're going to try to write shorter chapters like these more, because we've decided that one 25-page chapter every month and a half is way worse than a 12-page chapter every couple weeks, so expect that.

We'll have a little bit more time to see each other and hopefully less stupid life stuff soon, so the next chapter shouldn't take too long!

On another note, we hope you liked the Kar-perspective here! It was super fun to write, and hopefully it gave some insight into what he experiences most of the time.

We highly suggest you take a walk to the AO3 version of this chapter, as that version has a nice picture of a scene drawn by my Fiance. I don't think this website can host images within the text so sorry about that!

I (GradeASexual) am also working on a another Star vs. fic called 'Squire of the Wash,' please check that out as well if you haven't:)


	28. Chapter 28: Sing For Me

A low chirping resonated through the room. Jonathan stared at his bare white ceiling in disgust. He hadn't slept, not well at least.

He tapped his phone's screen and it presented him with two options: snooze or stop. He would normally have no trouble deciding, but his groggy mind stared at the screen for far too long before he hit snooze.

He resumed his glaring at the plain white above him. It was the same as every other morning that week, but everything else was so different.

Before he realized nine minutes had past, he heard the chirp again.

He considered staying home. There wasn't anything too important scheduled for the day, and he would be on call if there was an emergency…

He sat up and hit stop on the phone.

If he called out, he'd mess up his perfect attendance. It was one of the few things he was proud of, but it felt like it didn't matter anymore.

Did anything really matter anymore?

Jonathan took a deep breath and got off his bed. He'd need an extra coffee at the very least, and he'd have to get a 5-hour energy on his way in.

He combed his hand through his hair and sluggishly meandered to the bathroom.

As he went through his morning routine, his mind kept wandering to the day before. To what he _learned_ the day before. To the moment when he realized that he didn't know anything at all, really.

He passed the calendar briefly and a red circle caught his eye. Oh. Right. He was going to have the boys this weekend. Should he cancel? Or just pretend everything was ok? He was planning on taking them to an amusement park. They had given him a name and he hadn't heard of it, but it was apparently right on the edge of Echo Creek.

Well, he wouldn't have to worry about it until tomorrow. Till then he needed to focus on forgetting he ever met Marco Diaz. Jonathan convinced himself right then and there.

He just needed to tell Rachel to throw away the bloodwork results. He had made a human mistake and in the excitement of his false findings he jumped to conclusions. If he acted unusually jumpy around Rachel, it was only out of embarrassment for such a rookie error. Rachel, being the doormat that she was, would never question her superior and keep this little mishap between the two of them. In a way doing this would be _too_ easy.

Marco Diaz was just a normal boy. He had very active parents, an adoring fan-club of girlfriends, and the boy himself seemed rather dedicated to his schoolwork. Jonathan was almost envious. He wished his own sons had exerted the same amount effort in school. Not to the point of passing out, mind you, but it'd at least be a start.

Jonathan finished the remains of his coffee and locked the apartment door behind him. He was a few feet away from his SUV when his phone rang. He had received a text from his friend Amanda, a local florist he visited quite often back when he was married.

Jonathan opened the message and his eyes widened.

It was a low quality picture of Marco Diaz and his… arm, surrounded by several onlookers. The words underneath the picture read 'I guess the circus came early LOL.' It was a group text sent to about 6 other people.

Jonathan deleted the thread, turned off his phone, and went inside the car.

He drove in silence for a whopping thirty or so seconds before turning his radio on. He wasn't much for music, but he desperately needed to not think, so he turned it to a pop station and blasted it, letting the sound fill the car and spill out the cracks in the windows, most likely annoying the still-sleeping residents he drove past on his way to the hospital.

He let the music seep into him, and for the rest of his journey, it was just the car, the road, and some autotuned teenager screaming about boys she liked. Jonathan Singer didn't exist, and he didn't want to.

The act of clocking in and starting his day went by in a haze, accompanied by the catchy chorus of the last song he had listened to. It wasn't until he saw Rachel that his brain kicked back into gear.

Right. Today he had a mission to get all traces of Marco Diaz out of his mind and out of the mind of the rest of the hospital staff.

But then Rachel saw _him_ and ran up to him, eyes wide and slightly panicked.

"Doctor, I think you were wrong about that Marco kid," she said, and for a second Jonathan's mood got a lot better. If Rachel were to tell him that they messed up the tests, everything would be easier.

"How so?" he asked, acting a little shocked. He hoped that his exhaustion wasn't making his act too obvious.

Rachel motioned for him to follow her and walked around the corner to a more private hallway. Then, she pulled her phone out and tapped it a few times.

Finally, she showed him the screen, with an image of Marco Diaz in a street, with that terrifying tentacle arm just… having a conversation with him. It was a different picture from the one Amanda sent, and that simple fact sent everything Jonathan had in his stomach up to his throat.

This meant that it was widespread. Half the people in Echo Creek had seen it. He managed to keep from throwing up, luckily, and Rachel didn't even notice his struggle.

"That's crazy, right? What if those were the cells you found in his arm? It's the same arm and everything!"

"Heh, yeah, I supposed it is…" Jonathan said, barely above a whisper.

"This doesn't even look possible, but what if you discovered something incredible! Everyone on facebook says its a publicity stunt for a movie, but that kid didn't seem like the type to be into that kind of stuff. I think it's really real!"

It _was_ real. And now Jonathan wasn't the only one who knew. Jesus, everything was happening too fast.

"Doctor? Are you okay?"

He wasn't. He needed to explain it to her, or everything was only going to get worse. But he couldn't here. He needed to go somewhere where no one would hear them.

That's right. The room.

"Follow me," Jonathan said, instead of answering her. Without waiting for her response, he made a beeline for the room Marco had stayed in.

He entered the room, which he had told the hospital not to use again for a couple of days (A favor he had to pull, but a necessary evil. He wouldn't want a patient stuck in a magically soundproof room), and Rachel followed closely behind him.

"We can talk as loud as we please here," he said, shutting the door behind them.

"What's going on, Doctor?" she asked. Even _he_ had to admit how shady he looked.

"I already knew about Marco's… arm-thing," he said.

"... What?"

"When I confronted him about the cells, he introduced me to his…" Jonathan took a deep breath. "His demon friend."

"Um, _demon friend_?"

"The arm. The cells. It's all Magic." Ugh. It hurt saying it out loud.

Rachel's eyes went wide and it took a moment for her to respond. "So… a _demon_ arm?"

"Yes," he said. "And a magic spell is on this room as well. Apparently."

Rachel looked around the room briefly. "This is insane. Do you know how insane you sound? You sound totally insane."

"Completely crazy, I know. I'm well aware of how mentally unstable I sound." He thought for a moment. "But I can prove it to you."

"Okay?" she said, looking a little apprehensive, but a buzzing excitement showed through her face. Jonathan wished he had that kind of enthusiasm when he found out Magic was real.

He walked back to the door and opened it. He stepped out and gestured for her to follow.

Her mouth moved and he was sure she was saying something about how stupid this sounded, but all he heard was silence. Eventually she made her way over to him and out the door.

"Do you have any change?" he asked.

Rachel frowned but pulled out a couple of pennies from her pockets. "Not much."

"It'll do." Jonathan dropped the pennies onto the ground, where they clattered noisily against the hard floor.

"What're you doing?"

Instead of answering, he just said, "Watch. And listen." He picked the pennies up and threw them into the room. They crashed and bounced against the floor silently, landing near a stray flower on the ground, probably left over from Marco's visit.

Jonathan looked at Rachel, and she was just staring at the pennies, wide eyed. "How did you do that?" she asked.

"I didn't. It was all Marco," he said, then rethought himself. "Or the demon arm. Who knows?"

"Holy shit!" she said, putting her hand over her gaping mouth. She turned back to Jonathan and said it again. "Holy shit!"

"Yeah," he said, looking at the pennies.

"You mean if I…" She bit her lip and took a careful step into the doorway.

Then, she took a few more steps and turned to face Jonathan and started talking, or rather, it looked like she was. He couldn't tell with the sound barrier up.

He watched as Rachel switched to yelling. He could see her strain to make as much noise as possible, but he still didn't hear any of it.

As she took a moment to breathe, Jonathan shrugged at her and said, "I still can't hear you."

A big smile stretched across her face and she ran back over to him. She looked like a Doctor Who companion entering the Tardis for the first time as she stepped through the threshold in pure excitement and grabbed his hand.

"You do it!" she said, tugging him a little.

"Do what?"

"Go in there and say stuff! I wanna see it!"

"Alright, fine." Jonathan sighed and stepped inside.

He took a few steps forward until he was absolutely positive that he was well past the sound barrier. As he turned around, Rachel was watching expectantly.

"I don't know what you want me to say…"

Rachel smiled wide and said, "Say something else!"

"We've been studying medical science our whole life and we're completely useless in the face of magic. We know nothing. Our lives are lies."

Rachel watched with the same goofy face.

"My life is a lie. I'm useless. I don't know anything. I've been heavily considering suicide since last night."

Rachel frowned. "Dr. Singer, are you okay?"

Why wasn't Marco keeping his arm a secret? Why did he go out in public with his demon friend out? Sure, most people thought it was a stunt, but there will be people who believe that it's real. It's such a stupid thing to do.

Why did Marco show him? He couldn't have come up with some sort of fake explanation? It wasn't like Jonathan was relentless. If Marco absolutely refused treatment, there would be nothing Jonathan could do about it. Why did he have to rope him into this?

And his kids? Whatever kind of disasters will come up from Marco's blatant use of magic, his kids will probably be in the middle of it. Dominic was only a year younger than Marco. They could even end up in the same school together.

And that wasn't even considering the other dimensions thing Marco had mentioned. It was like hundreds of other planets filled with magical aliens were just a step away. Wars could start at the drop of a hat and destroy civilization as we knew it.

"Jonathan, look at me," Rachel said, breaking him out of his thoughts. Somehow he'd missed her coming in and closing the door behind her.

"How can you be so okay with this?" he asked.

"It's exciting," she said. "Think of the possibilities."

"I am, and it's terrifying."

Rachel frowned.

"Rachel, we know nothing. All the years learning medicine was useless in the face of Magic. How are we supposed to defend against something like this?"

"We learn about it!" she said, a sparkle of excitement in her eyes. "Imagine how much magic can help people!"

"Help people?"

"Like, what if someone needed an amputation, but we can give them a new limb, like Marco's tentacle arm thing? Or what if we could teleport cancer cells out of a patient's brain? Or maybe magic can heal up surgery wounds faster than we can, so we don't have to worry about blood loss as much?"

He… hadn't thought of it that way.

"We should contact him, doctor. He needs to tell us how he came into contact with all this." Rachel said, motioning him to come out the door with her.

"Right now?" he asked.

"Yes!" she said.

"But we're on our shifts."

Rachel thought about it for a split second, but then said with a smile, "This is more important."

"It's the middle of the day. He's probably at school."

"Oh! Right!" she said, but then said. "Get his records, and we can go to his school."

"Rachel, he doesn't _want_ to be found."

Rachel looked over at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Jonathan rubbed his temples. "Marco didn't show me his arm because he wanted to brag about it. I pressured him into doing it. My ambitions got the better me, and I just wanted an explanation for those cells. I wouldn't let him or his family leave until he told the truth, despite how uncomfortable he was talking about it."

"So he can control when the tentacle appears? It doesn't just pop out?" Rachel asked, a spark in her eyes.

Jonathan frowned. "Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that I forced him to do so and he never would have without my pressure. Marco Diaz wants to live a normal life with as little interruption by us as possible, from what I've gathered. It would be insensitive and rude to approach him about it."

Rachel frowned. "But then, why did he go out in a crowded public area with his demon arm out?"

Oh. Jonathan hadn't a clue. It seemed completely counter-intuitive to how he reacted in the hospital.

"Maybe he had a change of heart?"

"Perhaps, but why he did that isn't important. We need to look at this from a different angle."

"What kind of angle?"

"Well, for one, we need ask ourselves what magic even _is_ , and if it's worth pursuing from a medical standpoint. Magic is an incredibly broad and abstract concept in the world of fantasy, but we shouldn't assume it acts the same way in our world, especially since the various interpretations of magic tend to differ and contradict themselves."

"Okay." Rachel pondered for a moment. "You said Marco's tentacle arm is a demon, right?"

Jonathan nodded.

"So then we can assume demons are real at least."

"Yes." Jonathan walked over to a sterile white wall and pulled a pen out. "Let's try to categorize what we can assume to be true and what we're just guessing at." He wrote on the wall with the pen "things we know" and "things we think" next to one another and underlined them both.

"Okay, so we know demons exist," Rachel said, writing it down with her own pen under the "things we know" column.

"Yes, and we know magic can create a regenerative tentacle arm." He wrote it down in the "things we know" column.

"And that magic can soundproof a room," Rachel added.

Jonathan nodded. "We don't know what else it can do. Or the source of it. Or if it's permanent."

"Do you think it may be the demons?"

He thought about it for a moment. "It's possible." He wrote "source: demons?" in the "things we think" column. "Marco described both his arm and this room as 'curses'. Those may come from demons specifically…"

Rachel looked at the wall. "Is this all we know so far?"

Jonathan gripped the pen. "Just two more things."

He drew a large circle outside the two columns, then drawing inside the circle itself to make a crude representation of North and South America. Jonathan wouldn't consider himself an artist by any means, but Rachel seemed to understand what he was going for. He then wrote the word 'dimension' above the Earth picture and Rachel's jaw literally dropped.

"You're kidding. Dimensions?" she said in disbelief. "We're going this far down the rabbit hole?"

"I suppose so…" Jonathan looked at the wall and realized how ridiculous this seemed. What he would give for a blue pill right now. "Marco mentioned travelling to places outside 'The Earth Dimension'. It might be where the demons came from originally."

Rachel wrote that on the "things we think" column. Then, underneath it, she wrote "contagious demons/curses?" and turned back to Jonathan. "What if it's just spreading from Marco?"

"From a tentacle arm to a soundproofed room?"

"It's magic, anything's possible," she said with a shrug.

"I suppose so, but I don't think all the magic is coming from Marco," Jonathan said. The foreign exchange student with the ridiculous looking wand that she claimed could do magic.

In the "things we think" column, he wrote "other source: magic wands?". Rachel looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.

"There was a girl with Marco yesterday who had a ridiculous wand and claimed to be able to fix his ailment with magic. I dismissed her as an immature child at the time, but Marco later confirmed she was indeed magic."

"Really? Who is she?" Rachel asked.

"They said she was an exchange student from-" They hadn't said where she was from. Jonathan looked back at the wall, where "dimensions" was written down. "Oh my god. She's the source! She's not simply from another country! She must be from another dimen-"

The floor disappeared from under him and he fell straight down into what felt like an infinite pool of water.

Except it only lasted a second and then he hit a cold, hard ground. Dust flew up around him and he realized that it was definitely not water because he was as dry as the air around him, which felt like an oven on full blast.

He stood up and looked at the crumbling room around him. Where was he? How did he get there?

A slow, repeated clanking of metal caught his attention and he turned around to see someone sitting on a broken pillar, clapping their hands. He couldn't tell much about them until his eyes adjusted to the light, but the fact that the motion of them clapping their hands matched up with the clanging metal was really unnerving him.

"I'm impressed," the person said, their voice calm and echoing through the decrepit room. Decidedly feminine, he noted, as her form became more clear. She had long black hair and possibly a cape hanging at her back and muddling her body shape in the darkness.

"Where am I?" Jonathan asked, his voice wavering ever so slightly. Whatever way he was brought in, there didn't seem to be any exits.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is that you can't leave unless I say so," she said.

He had every reason to believe her at this point. He wasn't in the hospital anymore. That much was fact. He probably wasn't even on Earth anymore.

The idea to scream definitely came up, but what good would that do? They were probably the only living beings for miles. The woman was staring at him, or at least he assumed so. He couldn't quite make out her face yet, but he was definitely taking note of how alien her body looked- with pointed ears and either really complex armor on her arms and legs or perhaps robotic prosthetic limbs, now that he was looking closer.

Her torso and shoulders had medieval-looking armor, which clashed a little with the definitely-now-he-was-sure mechanical arms that had vines twining between the moving parts, like some sort of commentary on nature versus machinery. And then, as his eyes made it back up to meet hers- or rather, black voids in the place of eyes, he had the sudden realization that he most certainly was not in kansas anymore and that he would much rather be in Oz than this hell hole.

The woman sighed, and said,"Don't look so pathetic. I'm not going to hurt you. I just got what I needed from your little conversation and pulled you out of it for a second."

Jonathan gulped. "You heard us? How?" Was this some sort of crazy conspiracy?

"You don't need to know," she said, and Jonathan felt a little like she was talking down on him.

"Okay, so I probably don't need to know why a woman made of metal kidnapped me to God knows where, too, right?"

Her face remained relatively impassive. "Oh, I just need some information from you."

"... Information? Why would you need information from me?" What could he know that this techno-magical creature-person didn't?

"At approximately 11:09 AM yesterday Earth Pacific Daylight Time, what conscious beings were in Hospital Room 406?"

"Um… conscious?" Jonathan's thoughts immediately went to Marco''s _other_ condition. The one that made him pass out at random intervals. What with all these revelations regarding magic, it was easy to forget about that part. Could Marco passing out also have something to do with magic?

The woman smiled forcefully through gritted teeth. "I'll make my demands slightly simpler for your human brain to understand. I want a list of the people present in that room at 11:09 yesterday. Now."

The woman was looking impartiant, and Jonathan didn't want to learn what those mechanical appendages were capable of.

"I know for a fact I wasn't in that room. My appointment in that room wasn't until 11:15. The people in that room were the patient, Marco, his parents, the foreign exchange student living with the Diaz's, and two other girls that were friends with Marco."

"What are their full names?"

"What, all of them? Why do you need to know?"

"It doesn't matter why. I just need names."

"It _does_ matter. I'm not reckless. I don't know what your intentions are with those people. Also, I'm in charge of treating people in that room. If there's something wrong with it," well, other than it being soundproof, "I need to know."

She got up from her seat on the pillar. "You _don't_ need to know. You have gone your whole life not knowing about magic. There's no reason to start now. Just keep relying on your precious science and you'll be fine. Simply never use the room again."

"I can't do that! I'm not some kind of livestock! I deserve to know what's going on in the world around me!" he said. "Why do you need these names? What's wrong with that room?"

She frowned, and began slowly approaching him. "You don't seem to get what kind of situation you're in-"

"I know _exactly_ what kind of situation I'm in!" Jonathan said. "I've been abducted to another dimension by an elf with mechanical prosthetics who thinks I'm some kind of dumb animal because I haven't been informed about the greater multiverse."

The elf stopped. "H-how did you know what I am? Who told you?"

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Are you serious? It's obvious just by looking at you! The ears, the robot parts with the apparent nature motif. Give me some credit…"

"That's not what I mean, human," she said. "Your species is the only sentient type of race dominating this dimension. Where have you heard of elves?"

While at first Jonathan seemed somewhat insulted, he noticed that woman was legitimately distraught over him knowing what an elf is.

"Well, we don't exactly… believe in… you people, per see, but elves are all over our culture and media. Fantasy novels, video games, Dungeons & Dragons, card games, religion, folklore. Hell, we even have a holiday centered around a fat man that delivers presents to good children thanks to the slave labor of elves."

She took a step back, apparently completely overtaken by the revelation that Earthlings knew anything about magic. "You're lying. Y-you're doing some kind of illusion right now."

"What? I can't do illusions. I'm a human. You _just_ said I don't know magic." It felt weird saying it like that, but if she was so confident that humans weren't a part of the magic loop, that was the best defense he had.

"But that makes no sense! Where would that knowledge have come from?"

He could only assume from previous visitors, back before people could call them movie publicity stunts.

But… if elves were real, then what else was? Demons were apparently real as well, so it really broadened the horizons, between religious creatures and Tolkien's creations, everything else could be real. Gorgons, dragons, Hogwarts, fuck, maybe Santa was real all along, with an actual child slavery ring of people from this woman's world.

"My best guess is that elves have come here in the past," he said, fairly confidently. Wow. He was getting a lot more comfortable with the fact that all this was real. "They could've been on Earth for a long time, but eventually moved on to a dimension less boring, or got killed by heroes who thought they were monsters. They left a big enough impression to stick through the ages as stories. There's no way to tell how much religion and lore are based in reality or fiction! In a similar fashion, there's this show called Stargate where-

"But… That's impossible. It's illegal to go to Earth without a warrant," she said. It was the strangest thing to hear a legal term come out of a fantasy character's mouth, and it made the situation almost funny.

"I mean, it's illegal to kill people. That never stopped them before," Jonathan said, then thought about it for a second. It was illegal to go to Earth? Maybe there was a conspiracy…

Who was behind this supposed 'law,' and what type of influence did they have across the multiverse? Were they based in a central location, or had a far reach? What happens if you got caught trespassing on Earth? The amount of questions going Jonathan's head were infinite, but we wasn't sure how willing this elf was to speak to him further on the subject.

"Tell me, Ms… uh… what was your name again?" Jonathan asked.

"I never told you my name, nor do I have any intentions of telling you now. Let's return to the matter at hand. I still need those names."

"What are you going to do to them if I give you their names?"

"I will investigate to find the source of the disruption," she said.

Disruption? He was getting somewhere. "And what will you do if you find one of them is responsible?"

"It doesn't matter." She scowled. "The names. Now."

"You know, isn't it odd that we're both speaking fluent English?" Jonathan said, changing the subject. Maybe he could find an exit if he kept her talking long enough.

"What?"

"Like, we're from completely different dimensions! What are the chances we'd both be speaking the same language?" There were several broken pillars throughout the room, maybe he could knock the stability of the roof or something?

"Of course we're both speaking English. It's the common language of the multiverse. It exists in one way or another on every world, even if not under the same name."

Well that was news. "Then who taught it to Earth if no one was allowed here?" His eyes swept the room and he realized that the pillars had been mostly decorative, considering none of the roof was caved in yet from the already-broken ones. Right. New plan.

"You're a curious case, Jonathan Singer," she said, finally addressing him by his name. "You're not the man I thought I'd be interogarting before I brought you here. I at least expected to wait a few minutes to have a conversion once you were done screaming in terror. What happened to being being so scared of this strange, new world of magic that you were heavily considering killing yourself?"

Ah, so she heard him say all that depressing stuff when he was testing out the soundproof room in front of Rachel. Did she put some sort of surveillance system in room 406? Well, it probably didn't matter now.

"Well, humans are creatures of contradiction," Jonathan said, now paying more attention to the elf's body. It was as she said before, she's his only way out of here. Running away wasn't the answer. In that amalgam of wires, tubes, and vegetation, the means of dimensional travel must've been _somewhere_ on her person, or at least a magic wand with a steampunk design. "But we're also creatures of ambition. Before I knew that it could turn into an ugly monster, I was legitimately excited when I saw those strange cells in Marco's arm. I thought I discovered something groundbreaking, something that could be manipulated to help people. In a way I guess that hasn't changed. I decided now I want to be a part of this."

"Ambition can lead to downfall," she said. "My world had ambition. It did not do them well." Jonathan wondered what her reflexes were like. She hadn't moved from her seat on the pillar yet. Was that because it was more work than it was worth for her?

"What happened to them?" he asked. Would her limbs need a wind up to move? How fast could she react if he just grabbed her dimension-hopping apparatus off her?

"They destroyed themselves."

"Yikes," Jonathan said, not really sure how else to react. If he caught her by surprise, maybe he could yank at one of her wires. They were all openly exposed, like aesthetic came before practical design when they were made, so if he could just hook something in there…

Oh right. He had his pen in his pocket. If he could slip it under a wire, he could disable her limbs and then _he'd_ be in control.

"What you are you doing?" she asked, noting his not-so-subtle attempt at inching closer to her.

"I have the names you're looking for on my cell phone. I just need to get closer to show you." Jonathan reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. His line of sight kept switching between her arms and legs and his messenger app.

"Don't come any closer," the elf ordered. "Bring up the names on your device and then throw it to me."

"My… DNA is imprinted into this thing. If if gets separated from me by more than a foot, it'll self destruct. We're still trying to work out the kinks."

"Then read them to me," she said, growing impatient.

"I just thought of this, but where I'm from is called 'The Earth Dimension,' correct? Does that mean that out of all the solar systems and planets we discovered thus far, our planet is the only one with sentient life." He grabbed his phone and pen from his pockets. Just for good measure, he put his pen tip into the audio jack of his phone, so it looked like it was part of the device. He unlocked his phone and opened up a text to Rachel. He had no bars, but it would send when he finally got signal, if any of this went horribly wrong. "Or, does the word 'dimension' have a different meaning to you, and there's a 'Uranus' dimension and a 'Neptune' dimension?"

"It means Earth is the prominent life location of the dimension. If there was a world with a bunch of villages and one major kingdom, it would be named after that one kingdom," she said. "Do you have the names yet?"

He slowly typed out ' _find marco and tell him to run'_ while trying to listen to her. He hit send, but the loading bar froze halfway. Okay, if this went wrong, they would at least have a head start.

He took a deep breath and then said. "I won't let you have the names. Those are my patients." And probably the only people who could make magic mainstream on Earth and help save millions of lives. Maybe.

"You think of yourself as brave? Think rationally for a minute. I wouldn't be here just to simply uphold some ancient law. This goes beyond restricting the amount of magic on Earth."

Good. Keep talking. Jonathan was about eight feet away now. "I suppose so. Based on how easily monsters have barged into our world before, it must _not_ be the highest priority to you people."

"Someone in that room released a dangerous power, and I'm here to stop them before they do it again," she said. "You would be wise to not stand in my way."

Jonathan frowned. "Then we should work together. There might have been a misunderstanding." He took a step towards her emphatically. Six feet away.

"There is no misunderstanding. I will find whoever is behind this and I will stop them."

"What could they have done? They're just kids!" Five feet.

"Children are more capable than you'd think," she said, hopping down off her pillar and staring him down. "I'm done waiting. Give me their names."

A chill went down his spine and he almost took a step back unconsciously. "I- uh- I-"

"The names." She took a step toward him. Four feet. He gripped his pen so hard he was sure his knuckles were white. This wouldn't be like last time, with the demon arm. That had taken him by surprise. He was ready for this.

"No," he said, barely audible. She took another step toward him, and for a moment he thought he saw the vines on her arms move. Three feet. He could reach her if he was quick enough-

"I understand," she said.

* * *

"Really? Who is she?" Rachel had asked.

"They said she was an exchange student from-" Dr. Singer stopped and then looked at the wall they'd been writing all over. "Oh my god. She's the source! She's not simply from another country! She must be from another dimen-"

Rachel saw two bright flashes of light in a row. Below Singer flashed a bright ring, just fast enough to leave an imprint on her vision, and he was gone. Then, before she even had enough time to realize that Singer had dropped down into whatever that light was, another light opened on the ceiling, just as quickly as the first. This time, Singer fell to the ground, face first onto the floor.

Rachel yelped at both occurrences, and then when Singer didn't immediately move, Rachel's nursing instincts kicked in and she was at his side in a flash. She ignored the beep that her phone got and peeled his body over. She locked eyes with his, which were wide and lifeless, and she screamed.

And nobody heard it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Another two months, another chapter of Habit;)

Sorry again for the delay. Instead of making promises for when new ones will come out, just know that they'll come out when they're ready. Too many projects to promise and consistent upload schedule. Though I'm confident things will get better from here.

Just like last chapter, I recommend you go to the AO3 version real quick to see an illustration by my co-writer. It depicts this new elf-cyborg character. Will help you visualize her down the line.


	29. Chapter 29: Change of Plans

"You okay now?" Marco asked Star, offering another tissue. She'd been crying for almost ten minutes, but it seemed like she was finally calming down. Both of them were sitting on Marco's bed.

"Well… I still feel really guilty, about a lot of stuff, actually." Star paused for a moment, taking the tissue from Marco. "But I guess that's sort of the point?"

 **"More or less,"** Kar said. **"That overwhelming feeling of guilt will probably last for, I don't know, the rest of your life?"**

"Oh, great…" Star said half-heartedly.

 _'Great. Now she's just as miserable as we are, and it's unanimously our fault.'_ Marco thought, placing his hand on Star's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. _'You joking about it isn't making things better.'_

Kar sighed, but kept his attention on Star.

Well, sitting there and wallowing wasn't going to fix anything, so Marco tried to change the subject. "So, we've been up here for awhile. I wonder what our folks are talking about…"

 **"Hey Star, whatcha thinking about?"** Kar asked nonchalantly, as if Marco wasn't even in the room with them.

Star looked up at Kar. "Huh? What I'm thinking?"

 **"Well, I can't read your mind, so I'm asking. This is what I assume _everyone_ asks when they want to know what someone is thinking. A very normal question that normal people ask. Now answer the magic tentacle arm,"** Kar said.

Star smiled ever so slightly. "Uh, okay." She scratched the back of her head. "I'm thinking about the night Marco got captured by Toffee, and how there's a million other things I could've done to stop that whole disaster. Like, if I grabbed his remote instead of giving up, or if I just incapacitated him long enough to grab Marco and run for it, or if I hadn't brought Marco on a stupid life-threatening adventure for a sandwich that morning, or… I don't know…"

 **"Exactly. You don't know. Marco plays 'what-if-I' games all the time, but it doesn't matter what you could've done. What happened is what happened. You can just learn from the past and move on to the future."**

"Wow. That was… actually really sage-like, Kar," Marco said. Sometimes he really did underestimate the demon.

 **"I have my moments,"** Kar said.

Star cracked another smile. "I guess you're right." She stood up and stretched. "Alright, I feel a lot better. Thanks."

"Already?" Marco asked.

She turned towards Marco and Kar with a renewed energy and spirit. "Yeah, I appreciate you guys trying to cheer me up, but it feels like I keep making every little thing about me and my problems."

"Star, it's not like your problems aren't important," Marco said. "Yes, Kar and I are pretty fucked up, but we've been dealing with that for years. Your problems don't have to take a backseat to our perpetual issues."

"I get that, but I decided that I wanted to help you get better, not dump my problems on you," Star said. "My feelings can be worked on later. Right now I want to work on those 'perpetual issues' of yours."

She took a deep breath.

"So... I guess I should go the Kar route and just ask, huh?" She looked at Marco. "What do you want to do? What would make you happier? Besides, you know, getting that memory spell fixed ASAP."

Marco didn't know what that last word was, but he disregarded it and thought for a moment. There were a lot of things that could potentially make him happier. Getting his adult body could be one, but that would likely end up causing more problems than it was worth. He could go on crazy adventures again, but his parents would worry, and he'd be missing out on Earth, the place he literally just came back to. He wanted to at least spend some years on Earth and figure out his life here.

That led to another option, though. One that he had been thinking about since his conversation with Moon. It was illegal and dangerous, but that was part of what made it an exciting opportunity. Not to mention the fact that he was the only person who could do it, hypothetically, by the fact that he was the first human to earn scissors. It sounded like a long shot, but he might as well say it out loud and set the idea in stone.

 ** _'Woah. Are you sure about this? She is Moon's kid, after all,'_** Kar thought.

 _'Out of everyone in this world, I trust Star the most. If anyone's going to hear it first, it's her,'_ Marco thought. _'Are you against the idea?'_

 ** _'I… don't know. Doing something like this seems risky and complicated. But if you think it will help people… I mean… fuck, man, go for it. I have your back.'_**

Marco smiled and gave Kar a brief glance. _'Thank you.'_

 ** _'Anytime.'_**

Marco looked Star in the eyes and said, "I want to integrate magic into Earth society."

Star blinked and then raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what?" She wasn't prepared to hear an answer like that. Hell, she probably expected something along the lines of a glass of water, not to help him flip his dimension upside down with magic.

 ** _'Do you think she even knows? This is a conspiracy, after all,'_** Kar thought.

Right, there was a high chance she didn't know _anything_ about Earth's ban on magic.

"I was talking to your mom, and found out the Magical High Commission made it illegal for Earth to be part of the multiverse or know about magic. I think that's stupid and unfair, so I want to teach the people of Earth magic. It could do a lot of good here."

"It's illegal to do magic here? Does that mean I've been _breaking the law_ this whole time?" Star asked, and then smiled defiantly. "Punk rock!"

"I mean, the High Commission doesn't care about you because you're royalty, and training with magic was sort of the point of you coming here. You can't break the law if you _are_ the law."

She frowned. "That's less punk rock."

Marco smiled. "Yeah, I suppose."

Star looked back up at him. "So you want to convince the High Commission to bring magic to Earth?"

"Not… exactly," Marco said, with a pinch of guilt. "Your mom heavily implied that they are pretty steadfast on the rule, and it's been going for millenium. They aren't going to just change it because a teenage boy wanted them to."

Star frowned. "Then what are you planning on doing?"

"I'm going to do it... personally. Of course, if I tried to do something like this, the High Commission would, uh, arrest me, I guess." Or execute him. "Once the memory spell gets fixed and things start to calm down, I'd basically be doing this behind everyone's back."

"So we'd be doing this all undercover-like?" Star asked, a spark of excitement in her eyes.

"Yup," Marco said. "The High Commission doesn't seem to keep close tabs on Earth and the gritty details of what's going on here, judging by how many magical slip-ups there's been already, so I figure if we're careful we can get a lot of magic going before they even realize, and by the time that happens, you might be queen, so you could probably either keep it under wraps even better, or maybe even convince the Commission to let it go unregulated."

"Till I'm queen? Wow, this would take a long time…" Star frowned, and seemed to be considering just how big of a favor this was.

 ** _'She might need a little more convincing,'_** Kar thought.

 _'I'm not going to manipulate her into doing this. It's her choice.'_

Marco grabbed Star's hand to catch her attention. She looked just as surprised as the last time Marco did this, but now it was of his own volition.

"Star, I want you to know that I'm not trying to pressure you into doing anything reckless. Don't do this for my sake. If you think it's a bad idea, it's okay to say 'no.' And if you don't want me to risk my own ass by doing this, say the words and I'll never pursue this. You wanted to know what I wanted here and now. Well, this is it, but it's not the only thing that will make me happy here."

"Just the thing that'll make you happiest," Star said with a smirk. "Okay, I'm in."

"Oh! Really?" Marco asked. He didn't really expect this to be so easy. "Are you sure? If your mom found out-"

"Marco, I do weird stuff behind my mom's back all the time. It's like second nature by now," Star said. "Besides, unlike those stupid adventures we went on, this'll actually help people, right? So what's not to like about it?"

"I… um…" Marco was so close to hugging Star again. He was worried his idea would be dismissed immediately. Not that he would blame her if she did, but the fact that she understood his perspective, saw the benefits of his plan, and wanted to help him immediately showed how she truly was his greatest ally in all this.

This was actually happening. Marco finally found his reason to be on Earth!

 ** _'Was it everything you wanted and more?'_** Kar thought.

Star let go of Marco's hand and threw some confetti in the air with her wand. "Oh man, this is going to be so much fun! Earth was already the greatest place ever, but now it'll have _magic_. Everyone will love it!"

Her excitement was contagious. Marco laughed. "Trust me, Star, it's gonna be great. Just imagine the benefits. With levitation, things like carpentry will become ten times safer. Alchemy will make cooking meals faster. Entire diseases could be wiped out with the right incantations."

Star smiled wide, but then it softened into a frown. "But wait. How are we going to bring magic to Earth? I don't think you thought this through."

"We're going to teach people how to do magic," Marco said.

"But how? I can only use my wand, and you only know the ritual-things, which you are _not_ going to teach anyone."

"What? No, of course not." Marco was fairly confident that he would be taking those specific hand gestures to his grave. Teaching those would be a good way to fuck the world completely. He didn't even trust _himself_ with them. "I can teach them regular old contemporary magic."

"Con-what magic?"

 **"Like your wand magic, but weaker and without the wand,"** Kar explained. **"The shit that everyone else is left dealing with."**

Star's eyes lit up. "Wandless magic? You mean like dipping down?"

"Not quite as powerful, but the same idea, yeah."

"But that's so hard to do!"

 **"Welcome to the world of magic. Like any craft, it requires endless hours of work and frustration."**

"But, Marco, you can do it?" Star said, smiling wide. Marco felt himself blush a little.

"I- uh-"

 **"Not well, but yeah."**

"Show me!" Star said, almost bouncing up and down in excitement.

Oh boy was she going to be let down.

"Okay." Marco held his palm out and closed his eyes to concentrate. He focused his body heat to his hand, and forced it to gather there. He felt every part of his body grow cold apart from his hand, and then a small fire grew in the space above his palm.

The fire licked the air a few times and then sputtered out. Marco shivered and rubbed his warm hand against his leg.

Kar grabbed a blanket and threw it over their shoulders.

"You just made fire!" Star said, way more amazed than someone who could summon an inferno with a wave of her wrist ought to be.

"Y-yeah," Marco said, still a little cold. "It's just a little survival tool I learned along the way. I can usually only use it to light a campfire for the night, or to stay cool in the dessert, but it's pretty useful."

 **"It saps all the heat from your body to make the fire,"** Kar explained.

"Oh. Cool!"

"I only really know smaller spells like this. I didn't really get time to master any of it. A real wizard could sap the heat from the air or another person entirely to make a huge-ass fireball." Marco said.

These entry-level spells always took a lot out of him. In a similar manner, the tracking spell he used to find Fluffy the Cat used up a most of his stamina. He would've become proficient at the stuff with more dedication, but time was a factor to consider.

That's why the Rituals, while coming with much shittier downsides, ended up being Marco's go-to method of magic. They ran on the logic of equivalent exchange, you give up a part of your body or allow something awful to happen to you in exchange for some easy and accessible magic. The Rituals were the ultimate cheat-sheet to power, assuming you were willing to pay the price.

But now that they were back on Earth, Marco didn't need the rituals. He could take all the time he needed to learn the basics, and eventually be competent enough at it to teach the people around him.

"It's still amazing though! Even if you're not a pro, you can do some magic without a wand or some big book!" Star said before turning to Kar. "What about you, Kar? Did you learn any cool magic on your quest?"

 **"I never had a need for that stuff,"** Kar said. **"I had my own system for doing things. A system that mostly involved hurling my face through people's torsos until the threat was neutralized. Besides, most magic requires hands."**

"I guess I'll work on that when I make your body, then!" Star said, with a wink.

Kar smiled. **"Hear that Marco? I'm gonna get _hands_. Think of all the obscene gestures I could do!"**

"Cool. I get to help my dimension get closer to something resembling a utopia and you get to flip people off."

 **"I think that sums up our individual goals pretty well."**

"And I get to help," Star said, chiming in.

Everyone laughed a little.

 **"You know what guys, I'm usually a pessimist when it comes to Marco's plans, but I actually think this might work!"**

 _"I think it's a solid plan, Marco. We have the supplies. We just have to get everyone else on board," Rula said, being intentionally vague so none of the other people in the street would catch on._

 _"Yeah, it just might work," Marco said with a smile. Rula took a sip from her canteen, staying by Marco's side as they walked through the slums._

 _No one would recognize him on this side of Mirria, but he still felt like he should be inside. They'd both decided to go out though, despite the risks, and get some fresh air- or, at least, the closest thing the Eastern Mirria Slums had to fresh air._

 _They were headed to the highest point by the warehouse district, a place where you could see most of the city, just to talk._

 _"I think he would be proud of us right now," Rula said, breaking the silence between them. "I miss him."_

 _Marco frowned and looked up to the sky. "I do too," he said, and then immediately felt like it was out of place. "I'm sorry."_

 _"Marco," Rula said, placing a hand on his shoulder._

 _Dozens of birds zoomed through the sky, all headed in the same direction._

 _"Marco," Rula said again, trying to catch his attention. "You don't have to blame-"_

 _"Something's wrong," Marco said, at the same time the thought crossed his mind. The birds cleared the sky completely, having fled from the center of town._

 _"Think it's an Enforcer?" Rula said, tensing up._

 _"No," Marco said. He turned around and saw a bright light in the distance, its shine carrying over the tops of the houses and buildings. It was getting brighter and possibly closer._

 _"What the fuck is that?" Rula asked, and running off pure instinct, Marco quickly put his hands together and spit an incantation out as fast as he could._

 _As the ritual activated, Marco grabbed Rula's hand and let the barrier wash over them. Whatever was coming, it couldn't see, hear, or touch them, so long as she held his hand._

 _And then the tidal wave of light swept through the streets, and soon it encompassed Marco's entire field of vision. All he could see was blinding white light._

 _And once the light had passed through them, they were surrounded by dust and smoke._

 _"Oh my god, what's going on?" Rula asked, squeezing Marco's hand._

 _"Is it Elesh?" Marco suggested. Was **this**_ _the Reckoning?_

 _The dust settled and Marco and Rula gazed upon the entirety of Mirria, flattened to rubble as far as the eye could see. Rula pulled her hand away and covered her mouth. Marco felt like throwing up._

 _There was nothing left. No people, no buildings. Not even the churches or the court. In a matter of seconds what was once a bustling town became an empty wasteland of dirt and stone._

 _Marco turned around to watch the wall of light go ever further away from them, leaving endless amounts of debris as it went. It was destroying everything._

 _There weren't even screams. By the time people realized what was going on, they were already dead._

 _Was this what they wanted all along? Not power or control, but pure annihilation?_

 _"Marco?" Rula said, giving him a thousand-yard stare of confusion. Marco realized that letting go of his hand had ended the Ritual's effect on her. A spell she wasn't aware of to begin with._

 _As Marco was about to release the aura around him, a terrifying screech resounded from the center of Mirria, and Marco whipped around to see a giant serpent rise from the ashes of the church._

 _"It's Galdos," Marco said in realization. The serpent turned its head and looked at Marco and Rula._

 _Then, Rula screamed and disintegrated in a blast of light._

 _"Rula!" Marco yelled, pointlessly and uselessly. The serpent, apparently not immune to the barrier ritual, turned and floated away, sending blasts of white light to the ground as it flew and demolishing whatever still remained after its initial attack._

 _The serpent flew until it was completely out of sight, and then Marco was left alone in an infinite wasteland._

 _He slowly processed everything that had just happened. Rula was dead. Everyone was dead. The Elesh Court had succeeded, or maybe failed._

 _They never even got a chance to fight back. Toza and H-Poo would not be avenged. It was over before they could even try._

 _Wind whistled through the air and Marco looked around himself, hoping to see some semblance of life._

 _Everything was dead._

 _Marco looked down at his hands. Was there anything he could do? He wracked his brain for some sort of magic or ritual-_

 _Oh. The Rewind Ritual. The last thing Marco had learned from that accursed journal before he tossed it into a raging inferno._

 _It was a risk. It was the biggest risk he could imagine, but he couldn't not-_

 _Marco took in a shaky breath. This was the only option. He couldn't leave it this way. Not like this. If he didn't do this, the entire world would be done for._

 _Marco closed his eyes and put his hands into the correct formation. Then, he started the chant, the image of that accursed journal page etched into his mind._

 _For just a moment, he thought that he said it wrong, and then he felt his body start to burn away._

 _No no no no!_

 _Before he could try to stop it, he was nothing but dust._

 _..._

 _"So while the parade plays out at noon, we sneak into the-"_

 _Marco coughed up blood onto the table, all over the resistance's plans. It felt like a hammer slammed into his skull and he doubled over. Everyone else stood up from their seats._

 _"What the? Marco, are you okay?" said Trumm._

 ** _"What the fuck is going on?"_** _Kar asked._

 _Marco grasped his chest in pain. Wait. What? Where was he again?_

Marco opened his eyes and promptly turned and emptied his stomach onto the ground. He vaguely heard voices around him, but they weren't important.

He was there again. And he'd be there again and again and again and-

He tried to sit up, but his arm was shaking too hard. He wiped the blood from his mouth and grabbed his knee in an attempt to stabilize himself.

Everyone died. Every time everyone died. He tried to explain it to them, but he always had to get past the hurdle of disbelief. It wasted too much time. He should've just gone by himself-

Something pulled him up to a sitting position, and he leaned forward to try to stay up.

If he had just known- if he had acted a day before-

Something started rubbing his back.

He was stupid and reckless and-

"It's okay," a voice said. "You aren't there anymore."

He had caused so many deaths-

"You're sitting on your bedroom floor. You're home. You're not in danger."

Marco let in a shaky breath. Had he been hyperventilating?

"You did good things. You did nothing wrong."

Marco focused on the hand making circles on his back and tried to calm his breathing. Distantly, he thought he heard a second voice on the other side of him, but he couldn't quite make out what it said.

"Take deep breaths. You are on Earth. You are a champion of a great quest. You've done great things, and people love you for it."

Marco took a deep breath and held it in.

"Now, exhale. Let it out nice and slow."

Marco let the air out as slowly as possible. He could still feel his heartbeat in his throat.

"Good. Now inhale again."

She was still rubbing his back slowly.

"And exhale."

He followed her instructions and began to process the world around him.

It was just a flashback. For a minute he thought he was there again. He looked down at his hand, with a smear of vomit on it. Oh. No blood.

Right, because he hadn't actually lost anything this time. He had all of his organs actually, instead of seemingly just the ones he needed to survive.

Marco took a slow deep breath as a gloved hand gave him a handkerchief, presumably to wipe the vomit off his hand and mouth. Right, there were other people in the room with him.

People that he threw up and had an attack in front of. Great.

He took the cloth and wiped it slowly across his mouth, not looking up at the people around him. His hand was still shaking. He still needed a minute.

He knew this would happen eventually. There were lots of moments in his life that were average, easy moments to relive. But, even though it wasn't as often, there were the moments like this, the horrifying, traumatic times where he watched everything he loved die over and over again and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He was such a fucking hypocrite, complaining about how weak or pathetic he had become because he turned into a kid, as if he was any more capable of saving anyone as an adult. Now the outside just matched the inside.

On his quest, he fucked up so many times he could probably break a record. It was stupid of him to even remotely compare any of it to failing a fucking quiz at school. He was so petty.

"Are you feeling any better, Kar?" It was Star's voice. That's right, before the flashback they were talking about… something?

As Marco's vision became clearer, he soon realized that it wasn't Star that had been trying to comfort him. The gloved hand that had been rubbing his back belonged to Moon, the very same person that, just a few hours ago, Marco would have assumed was a stuck up bitch. The same person he lashed out at and accused of being a terrible mother and ruler was now the only thing keeping him from screaming his brains out.

"Better?" Moon asked softly, still rubbing his back.

"Yeah," Marco said, his voice rasping a little.

Moon slowly removed her hand from Marco's back and gave him some room. Marco looked over on his other side, where Kar was wrapped around Star and she was rubbing his side.

"As he relaxes, give him some space to breathe," Moon told Star, who looked up at her and nodded.

"You're, um, good at that," Marco said. That was the fastest he'd ever calmed down.

Moon seemed genuinely surprised at that. "Oh. You'll have to thank River for that. I just copied what he usually does."

Marco chuckled, River was the _last_ person he'd expect to be an expert at calming down broken people. Then he was hit with a realization he should've had sooner.

Oh. He really did misjudge her.

Beside him, Kar started moving on his own.

 _'You doing okay?'_

 ** _'We'll talk about it later.'_**

"Thank you guys," Marco said, smiling up at Moon and Star.

 **"Yeah. Thanks,"** Kar said to Star, his voice also a little raspy.

"It was all Mom, actually. I was just following her instructions," Star said.

Marco looked around the room. It was just him, Kar, Moon, and Star. His parents and River weren't there, which meant Moon was good enough to not cause a ruckus and alert the rest of the house. But that left a big question hanging in his head.

"Why are you here?" Marco asked Moon, and then backtracked. "I mean, not that I'm ungrateful, but how did you know to come in and help?"

"Mom was spying on us," Star said, shooting a sharp look at Moon.

"I-I wouldn't call it _spying._ I was merely…" Moon paused to think of a synonym that was less incriminating. "...Um, eavesdropping?"

"You were spying on us like a teenage girl spies on the guy she likes," Star said, with an edge of bitterness. "Grow up, Mom."

Marco suddenly realized _what_ Moon must had been eavesdropping on.

 ** _'Oh shit. Looks like we got busted before we even did anything.'_** Kar thought.

Moon's expression intensified. "And, pray tell, Star, what would've happened if I _didn't_ spy on you two? You would've involved yourself in something extremely dangerous without considering the consequences. If you were caught disregarding High Commission Law like this, did you think your position as future queen would be enough to protect you?"

Star didn't even blink at her mother. "Extremely dangerous? What? You mean like a bunch of monsters attacking me on a daily basis, trying to steal my stuff?"

Moon flinched slightly, but her posture stayed determined. "That's not what we're discussing right now."

"Oh really? What's this discussion about, then?" Star said. "Your whole point was danger, but you never have any problems throwing me in danger if you think it'll teach me something!"

This was escalating. Marco needed to bring everyone back to the topic at hand. "Don't blame Star for this, Moon. It was my stupid idea to begin with. I just roped her into it." He didn't like resorting to this, but if putting his ambitions on hold for the foreseeable future would help Moon calm down, it was worth it.

Moon disregarded his comment entirely. "I wasn't trying to teach you a lesson, Star. I sent you to Earth so you'd have a safe place to hone your magic"

"I have the wand, Mom! There isn't a single place in the universe where I'd be safe." She then presented her wand, making damn sure Moon saw it. "I've had a target over my head since I was a baby!"

"But people on Earth don't know about magic, so they wouldn't be after the wand," Moon explained, as if Star was a naive child. "Which is _why_ we shouldn't teach them magic in the first place." She gave Marco a sharp glance.

"Actually, bringing me to Earth just put the Diaz's in danger! _Because_ they don't know magic!" Star pointed at Marco. "Marco got kidnapped by Toffee and almost killed!"

Moon winced at the name Toffee.

"As long as there are scissors roaming around," Star continued, "anyone can come to Earth! Heckapoo, a member of the High Commission, even came to Earth herself and kidnapped Marco!"

"Is everything alright in here?" River said from the doorway, where Marco's parents were also standing.

Great, more complications. So far, Operation: Bring Magic to Earth was going off without a hitch.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Not much to say on this one. Just that we hoped you enjoyed the chapter!


	30. Chapter 30: Dissociation

**Author's Notes:** Once again, apologies for the delays, but we think you'll get a kick out of this one;)

Thanks again for all the support on fan fiction and AO3!

* * *

 ** _'_** ** _This is sort of like poetry, it rhymes, you know?'_**

 _'_ _What the fuck are you going on about now?'_ Marco thought, pulling a chair over to the living room, along with everyone else.

 ** _'_** ** _Well, we're back downstairs, getting ready to have a conversation that no one actually wants to have.'_** Kar thought. **_'You know, like this morning.'_**

 _'_ _That doesn't make it poetry, Kar. That just makes it repetitive.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Isn't that what poetry is?'_**

"Are you two quite finished?" Moon said, shooting them a look as she and River sat down.

Ugh. Right. He forgot he was being 'rude' by thinking. Marco noticed his parents and Star were staring at them as well.

 **"** **I'm good. Sorry about that, folks,"** Kar said, without a care in the world.

"Yeah. Sorry," Marco said, taking a seat by everyone else. Marco had a chair right next to his for Kar to rest his body on. It looked ridiculous, and Kar was reveling in that fact.

Kar had been unusually obnoxious since they went downstairs, but he supposed the carefree mood he displayed was an attempt to clear his mind. Marco would take Asshole-Kar over Distraught-Kar any day, so he didn't mind.

"You know," River began. "There's something oddly poetic about this, what with the boring and serious conversation looming in this room once more."

"Fucking Xhiln," Marco said.

"Marco! Language!" his dad said.

"Oh, right. It's not another language, actually. Xhiln was one of the first people to figure out how magic in Heckapoo's dimension worked, and for a long time people worshiped her-"

"We meant the swearing, Honey," his mom said. "Your father and I are willing to acknowledge that you're an adult trapped in a teenager's body, but could you tone it down with the curse words? Watching you say stuff like that is.. bizarre."

Marco shrugged. "Sorry about that, Mom." She did have a point. It must have been more than a little jarring to see 'precious-child-Marco-Diaz' use profanity, but today had been so emotionally exhausting, that he needed _some_ way to vent out his frustration. This was yet another sacrifice he'd have to make for the greater good.

 _'_ _Fuck,'_ Marco thought to himself. Hmmm, it just didn't have the same ring in his head.

 ** _'_** ** _If it's any consolation, it sounds the same to me,'_** Kar thought.

"We should really get on topic. Letting Star and Marco escape to his room was a mistake, that much is clear. If we want to make any progress today, we'll need to discuss this _together,_ " Moon declared.

"Before that," Star said, "Is there any reason why we're doing it this way? Like, a bunch of chairs formed in a circle? It feels like we're about to summon a demon? Why does this need to feel so awkward?"

River reached over and put a hand on Star's shoulder. He looked slightly serious. "Star, while this does resemble a typical demon summoning, we are actually participating in an ancient Johansen ritual known as an 'Intervention.' A social trap meant to put a friend or relative of particular dysfunctionality under the spotlight, so that the rest of us may judge them and tell them how to live their lives. Rafael and Angie are making us partake in their Earthly, more primitive, version of that ritual. So it's best we participate to not come off as rude."

"Wait!? We're doing this this just to judge Marco? Why?" Star said, starting to sound defensive. "There's nothing wrong with him! He's just...different… is all."

Marco scratched the back of his head. "Um… I don't think that's what-"

"This is not an intervention, Star, and this isn't just about Marco. After what we saw in his room, it's clear that we have a lot of things to talk about, and it's best we do that in a controlled setting where everyone has a chance to say what they're thinking," Marco's dad said. "No more screaming and blaming, just discussing and understanding, okay?"

Star crossed her arms. "What happened in Marco's room wasn't a big deal." She shot a cold glance at her mother.

"Marco's vomit was on the floor…" his mom said.

 _It was blood, his organs were-_

Shut It Down, Marco.

"You aren't looking at the big picture, Angie! Marco, Kar, and I were discussing plans for the future _in private_ , but Mom here spied on us! And now she's acting like she's in the right because what we're gonna do is 'illegal'," Star said, doing some stupid thing with her fingers to emphasize 'illegal'.

"Illegal?" Marco's Dad said, leaning in. "Like, murder-illegal or pirating-illegal?"

"Do pirates not murder here?" Marco asked.

"Um, I've met a few in this dimension. Instead of sailing the seas, they're mostly landlocked and work at seafood restaurants," Star said. "Kind of a downgrade if you ask me."

"The pirates in restaurants are just actors, Star. The kind of pirates Rafael is talking about just steal things and resell them," his mom said. "It's mostly harmless, though."

"Oh," Star said. "Then it's definitely kind of like Earth-Pirating."

 **"** **More like we're actually stealing the Earth back from the clutches of the Douchebag Commission,"** Kar said.

"Excuse me, but where does Kar fall on the Marco-can't-swear front?" Marco asked. "If I get censored, so should he."

"We need to focus on the issue at hand," Moon insisted.

"No we don't, because whether you decide I can or can't do something isn't going to stop me from doing it," Marco said, looking her in the eyes.

"Calm down," Marco's mom said, standing up and catching the attention of everyone in the room. "We don't need to fight here. We just need to calmly discuss everything and come to a conclusion. And _I_ need to know _exactly_ what laws are being broken by my son and why."

"Very well," Moon said, standing up from her own chair. She did so with the Queen-like confidence that told everyone in the room it was her turn to talk and that she would _not_ take kindly to being interrupted. Marco's mom nodded and sat back down, letting Moon have the floor.

She turned to Marco's parents. "This is a lot tell you two, but I will try to make it as easy to understand as possible. And it may be a bit shocking. Are you alright with that?"

"With all due respect, Queen Moon, with everything Marco unloaded on us yesterday, it's hard to think anything else can faze us at this point," Marco's dad said. "It's not a matter of if we _can_ understand it. We _have to_ understand it, to make sure we know what Marco's getting himself involved with. We'll decide if stopping him is the right decision after you explain what all this is." He raised his hand to Moon, signalling for her to start.

Moon sighed. "You're both already aware that other dimensions exist. We made that clear on our first meeting, when River and I approached you about letting Star live with you. When my daughter walked into your loving arms, she brought with her a priceless family heirloom, the Royal Wand, the most powerful magic-conjuring weapon in the multiverse, and the symbol of our family's cosmic importance. Star was just starting to learn magic, and with her experimental nature, she began bringing some unwelcome chaos into your lives. This incident with Marco being one of many."

"Oh, we didn't mind," Marco's mother said. "Star can be rambunctious, but she was always capable of realizing when she made a mistake. Rafael and I never had to resort to punishing her; she'd always go out of her way to fix things before it ever came to that. And it's those moments of maturity that make us love her so much."

Marco looked over and noticed Star hiding the fact she was blushing by covering her face with the wand. So cute.

"Yes, well, I'm sure my daughter has her moments," Moon said, passing off his mom's compliment. "Anyway, the truth is, while magic may have overwhelmed all of you with its presence, it wouldn't be that shocking in any other dimension, where magic exists in one form or another. Earth is a strange phenomenon as it contains no magic whatsoever."

"I see," Marco's mom said, taking it all in.

"Makes sense so far," Marco's dad said. Marco briefly wondered why his parents never asked for any specifics regarding magic and other dimension in the first place, but he assumed they just weren't the type to pry for details. Up until now he supposed it wasn't any of their business.

 ** _'_** ** _That or they're just plain stupid…'_**

Moon continued. "Earth is quite amazing when you think about it, actually. So many dimensions rely purely on magic, some civilizations would cease to exist without it, but the lack of magic on Earth had essentially forced humans to innovate in different ways, creating more advanced technology to to bend nature to their will. Doesn't that make you feel a strong sense of pride for your people?"

"Not particularly," Marco's mom said, with his dad seeming to share the same sentiment of total indifference.

"But humans have made incredible technology, that almost parallels magic, though," Moon insisted.

"Yes, but _I_ certainly didn't," Marco's dad said. "I make sculptures for a living, using chisels and hammers. I'm barely above a caveman, myself."

"What's the point of all this, Queen Moon?" Marco's mom said.

"Earth technology, which has been made exclusively because of the _absence_ of magic, is an incredible thing, and has even helped other dimensions solve their own problems."

"Really?" Marco said. He seemed to remember mostly medieval-level or lower technology in the other dimensions he went to. Save for one or two weird ones.

Moon smiled. "Yes. Actually, Mewni itself has used Earth technology during great times of need."

That… sounded like a stretch.

"Mewni?" Marco's dad said. "What kind of technology of ours has Mewni used?"

That question seemed to make Moon stop for a few seconds. "Well, you see… um."

"Ahh, that's it!" River snapped his fingers. "Moon-Pie, isn't the wheel an Earth invention?"

"That's right! Thank you for reminding me, River. Earth was actually the first dimension to invent wheels. Everyone else relied on wooden cubes to move their carriages, while Mewni used slaves. It's almost humorous how no one else thought of it before you," Moon chuckled.

"

There was an awkward silence in the room as it soon dawned on Moon what she had said.

"Wait, Mom, we used to have _slaves_!?" Star said, appalled.

"It was a long time ago, Star," Moon said.

Marco's dad rubbed his chin. "So, because we invented the wheel, we indirectly ended the concept of slavery in your dimension? I guess that _is_ impressive."

"Oh, no," River said. "Mewni didn't stop using slaves until much, much later, but the slaves were very appreciative of the assistance the almighty wheels provided. At least that's what the history books tell us, and why would they lie about that?"

 ** _'_** ** _I could think of a few reasons.'_** Kar thought.

"So, did Mewni use anything more recent?" Marco's mom asked. "Maybe something within the last _thousand_ years?"

Moon frowned.

"I think it would be a little hard to use the most recent things," Marco said, shooting Moon a look. "Because Earth's advanced technology would require an explanation and they're not allowed to talk to us."

 **"** **Yeah, it's kind of hard to steal Earth technology when it isn't something as rudimentary as a freaking** ** _wheel_** **,"** Kar said.

Marco's mom looked back and forth between her son and Moon and then said, "Okay, history lesson aside, exactly what law is my son breaking?"

"I want to bring magic to Earth and connect it with the other dimensions in the multiverse," Marco said.

"He wants to bring _chaos and confusion_ to your world, and destroy the systems in place that keep order," Moon corrected.

"Magic? To Earth?" his dad said.

"Doesn't it sound ridiculous?" Moon said, almost laughing.

"No, it... sounds pretty neat actually," he said. "I've always wanted to do the 'narwhal blast'!" Marco's dad began making some weird gestures with his hands, most likely pretending blasts of energy were coming out of his fingertips. The 'pewpew' sounds helped Marco reach that conclusion.

"Ooo! Maybe I can teach you it!" Star exclaimed, almost bouncing up and down in excitement.

 **"** **I'm not sure if humans are even capable of performing the spells you do, Star,"** Kar said. **"But there's nothing wrong with trying. Marco here proved that it's at least possible to some degree, you would just need to take learning it seriously."**

Marco's dad began clapping his hands. "Ohhhh! This is exciting! It's like learning a second language. It's difficult at first but with enough diligence the rewards are worth it!"

Marco chuckled. "I guess those are sort of similar."

"Yeah, I'm not really seeing what problem is," his mom said to Moon. "Unless 'connecting Earth to other dimensions' entails something else?"

Marco jumped to answer his mother before Moon could. "Basically, Earth has been left on its own since forever, but we can introduce the idea of other dimensions and magic to the people and governments, and maybe even have first contact with another dimension. Once we get past the hurdle of all that, our cultures could learn from each other and participate in interdimensional trade."

"So then, not only would we get to learn magic, but other dimensions could use our technology?" Marco's dad said.

"Yeah!" Marco said, starting to get excited again at the prospect.

"At the expense of your own dimension's technological growth, of course," Moon added.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Marco said.

"Magical communities stagnate due to the simplicity of using magic to solve their problems. Everything Earth was good at- the science, the technology, would start to degrade and it would be the same as any other dimension. Do you really want Earth to lose what made it so special in the first place? Humans displayed so much untapped potential. Why stop it now?"

 **"** **No offense, but I'm pretty sure magic would only fuel that fire,"** Kar said.

"And what makes you think that?" Moon said.

 **"** **There are already scientists here, and they're in the mindset of 'learn how EVERYTHING works, no matter what'. Give them magic, and they'll see how it ticks. Give them access to other dimensions, and they'll have a goddamn field-day out there."**

"You can't possibly believe that with the introduction of magic, people won't just drop their studies in favor of it," Moon said.

"Well, with or without magic, there are a lot of people I know who would never give up the internet," Marco's dad said.

Oh. Shit! Marco had forgotten about the monster that was internet. While he would have to be caught up to speed, Marco remembered it having the ability to transport information across the planet in seconds. It was almost like Earth's answer to the dimensional scissors. He _really_ needed to get his computer password from Janna. The internet might be his only way of contacting Earth's various leaders.

"There's also cars, indoor plumbing, back-up cameras," Marco's dad said. "Can magic really replace those things?"

"Yeah, and on that note, maybe magic can cure the fossil fuel crisis and just power our cars," Marco's mom said. "That could work with any technology, though. I want to see an I-Phone with a magically charging case."

"That would've helped me a lot on the quest," Marco said, "My phone did _not_ last long out there."

"It's sort of like our compact mirrors!" Star chimed in. "Those things can last for days on one charge, but they can't do as much as Earth's phones!"

"So it might not have to be as simple as choosing one thing over the other," Marco's mom continued. "I'm no expert at magic, but it seems like something we could integrate in our lives really easily. It could complement technology, not deter it. Just like how technology could complement Mewni, cause God knows they need it."

"Excuse me?" Moon said.

"Well, we've been to Mewni once or twice, and, well, when you're not treating it like a Ren-Fair, it's sorta…"

"Disgusting?" Marco's dad suggested.

"Yes! That's a good word! Though, I was thinking more like 'old fashioned'."

"Why I never-" Moon began.

"Wait, Moon!" River said, cutting her off. "I think they're onto something here. I've stayed at their house for a few days before and believe me when I say that this indoor plumbing thing is _amazing_!"

"River, not you too..." Moon lamented.

"Think of all the chambermaids we could fire!"

"Yeah, and instead they could work on, I don't know, paving the town roads or something instead!" Star said.

Marco grinned. This was working out better than he expected. Literally everyone else agreed that putting Earth on the map was a good idea, and none of Moon's counter arguments had worked. It was only a matter of time until Moon herself admitted how arbitrary that 'law' was, and as a member of the High Commission, she had the authority to attempt to change things. Screw doing everything from the shadows. They might actually be able to do it officially!

"That's enough from the both of you!" Moon ordered, interrupting Star and River gushing about the possibilities.

They both dropped down into their seats almost instinctively, like Moon had them trained like dogs.

"We are not changing our very way of life at the drop of a hat," Moon said.

 **"** **You said it yourself, though,"** Kar said. **"Relying on magic too much has caused your kingdom to stagnate."**

Moon shot a glare at Kar so intense that he snapped his mouth shut.

"It doesn't _matter_ whether we _want_ to change anything. We _can't_. May I remind you that what you are suggesting is illegal," Moon said.

"Who even enforces this law?" Marco's mom asked. "Who is big and scary enough to make a _queen_ shake in her boots?"

"The Magic High Commission," Moon said. "A cluster of immortal entities with near-limitless reach and power. They have watched over your dimensions and countless others for millenia."

Marco's parents frowned and slowly took that in.

"So they're _gods_?" Marco's mom said.

"Gods that aren't unkillable," Marco said, making sure that was at least on the table. "Nor are they always right."

The attention all turned to him.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Marco's dad said. "Before we resort to _murder,_ maybe we can try to reason with them?"

"Heckapoo's a member of the High Commission," Star added, with a sly smile.

"Oh," Marco's dad said. "Then we don't care what they think."

"Give 'em hell, son," Marco's mom said.

 ** _'_** ** _Whelp, looks like we're off to kill Heckapoo for real this time. Come on, Marco, we got a dimension to liberate,'_** Kar thought, jokingly, or at least Marco hoped so.

Oh boy. Marco's parents were taking this a step too far. "Mom. Dad. You got the wrong idea. I'm not trying to off these demigods. I just want to loosen their grip on Earth, and possibly every other dimension they've stuck their noses in."

"Well I would hope not," River said. "That would be quite the undertaking."

"Listen. I don't even _know_ these people," Marco said. "For all I know, they're just overpowered dumbasses running a much bigger show than they can handle. I don't want to get on their bad sides if I don't have to. Plus, I'm actually on pretty good terms with Heckapoo."

"If you're on such good terms with her," Moon said, "why is she not part of this plan?"

"What?" Marco asked.

"If you trust her so much-"

"Hey. No one said anything about trust," Marco said. "I said I'm on good terms with her, but she lied to me my _whole life_ about living in a time-dilated dimension. I can throw her a lot farther than I trust her."

 **"** **Besides, like it or not, we** ** _completed_** **the quest, fair and square. Doesn't that at least entitle us to decide what happens to our dimensions?"**

"For the very last time," Moon said. "Your Scissors Quest is not official. Most take up to a year to plan out, and are not decided on a whim like Heckapoo did."

"Official or not, I earned those scissors," Marco said.

"Wait a second," Marco's mom said. "What do you mean, 'official'?"

"Normally the High Commission chooses a worthy representative from each dimension and tests them to determine worthiness. If they complete the quest, they earn dimensional scissors and permanently connect their dimension to the rest of the multiverse," Moon explained. "But Marco's quest wasn't _planned_. He wasn't informed of the pre-existing conditions, he was much younger than anyone we'd chosen for a quest before, and he wasn't even given time to prepare."

"So you're saying our son had to go through a _worse_ version of this quest than everyone else and he _still_ doesn't get the reward?" Marco's mom said.

"I understand that this doesn't seem fair, Angie, and I promise that Heckapoo will be punished as soon as we're done here," Moon said. "But that punishment will not be possible if Marco's kidnapping is treated with the same gravity as a normal quest. To the Magic High Commission, the ends would justify the means. Do you understand?"

"Punished?" Marco's mom said. "How exactly do you go about punishing a God?"

"Well," Moon stopped for a second to really think it over. "I wouldn't know until we actually brought it to the High Commission's attention."

"So, probably not at all, I'm guessing," Marco's mom said. "She's a member of this High Commission, right? If she makes the rules, I can't imagine much of a punishment for her breaking them."

"Yeah, she probably wouldn't have decided on a whim to give me a quest if there was a possibility for getting shit for it" Marco added. He felt uncomfortable making these points against his friend, but at the end of the day, she was given too much freedom to do whatever she wanted.

"Heckapoo does not encompass the entire Commission," Moon said. "There are other members as well, and I'm confident they would not approve of any of this."

"Would they even care, though?" Marco's mom said. "Would these immortal Eldritch horrors or whatever lift an eyebrow for a single human from some dimension they consider less important than others? Isn't Marco a speck of dust to them?"

" _I'm_ a member of the High Commission!" Moon said. "And so long as one of us cares, the rest must, at the very least, discuss it."

Marco's parents raised their eyebrows at that.

"You? So are you also a magical being?" Marco's dad said.

"Not in the most literal sense, but our family does own the royal wand, which is a magical force of nature in its own right. The only thing we lack is the extremely long life expectancy, which is why every crowned Queen takes the job," Moon explained.

"If you have so much power, why are you bending over to their stupid laws?" Marco's mom asked. "Why not just pass righteous judgement or whatever you do?"

"I... don't have the same kind of pull as the others-"

"So you're like a _sub-_ member of the Commission?" Marco's dad asked.

"Which means you can't really punish Heckapoo at all, can you?" Marco's mom said.

"Why are we so focused on who can do what?" River said, forcing himself into the conversation. "This silly game of theorizing and hypotheticals are getting us nowhere. If Heckapoo facing justice is a shared goal between us, then I say we stop wasting time and march to the Commission this instance. The legality of Marco's ambitions can be discussed afterwards."

"We… we can't just bring this to them right now. They have other, far bigger problems to deal with," Moon said.

"Oh, so Heckapoo _won't_ actually get punished then," Marco's mom said.

"She will. Just not-"

"Queen Moon, I understand you're in a difficult position right now, but with all due respect," Marco's mom said, "my husband and I have tried to find the good in all people we meet. We have never _hated_ someone for making a mistake. It's just not who we are."

Everyone stayed silent with the sheer authority in which she spoke. You could think, for just that moment, that _she_ was the queen in the room.

" _However,_ Heckapoo has wronged our family in such a way that we could have never even _imagined._ She's broken our son and changed him and left him helpless and hopeless back in his own world. Because of her, he has to scramble to catch back up, he has to struggle to reintegrate, and he has to outrun a shitty past that's constantly trying to catch up with him."

Marco shifted a little uncomfortably. When she put it that way…

"I truly believed Marco made the most of it. He didn't owe that world anything, but he constantly put his life on the line to save thousands of people. I would never want to undo that."

"Mrs. Diaz," Star said, lifting up form her chair.

"But I'll repeat myself. We have never hated anyone. But we _hate_ Heckapoo. And we only mean the worst for her." She stared Moon down, ignoring the tears streaming down her own cheeks. "If you can't do anything about her, than we will."

What? Oh no.

"You can't possibly be planning to go after her," Moon said, a tinge of worry in her voice.

"Of course not. But if you can't realistically punish her for what she has done, then we won't bother meeting her at all. Instead, I want Marco to go through with his plan and bring magic to Earth. I want him to introduce every wonderful thing we missed out on that the other dimensions take for granted. My son will make Earth a better place. And when Heckapoo and the rest of her dysfunctional gang find out, when they see an Earth with magic _and_ technology, and when _she_ realizes what she created, I could think of no better revenge than that."

 ** _'_** ** _Damn. Your mom wants you to bring magic to Earth just to spite Heckapoo. I have gained a whole new respect for her,'_** Kar thought.

Marco's dad put an arm around his wife's shoulder. "I-I agree with Angie. These 'gods' have been deciding what's best for us without ever having the decency to reveal themselves. Marco will prove to them that his way is better." His dad was quivering a little in both body and speech. It seemed he was _a lot_ more afraid of Moon than his mom was.

 ** _'_** ** _Well, with that at least your dad is out of the negatives,'_** Kar thought.

Marco was a little overwhelmed by the sheer size of support his parents were giving him.

 _'_ _Yeah,'_ Marco thought absently.

There was a moment of silence as the intensity settled. Moon took a slow breath, as if to push down whatever retort she had in her throat, and then turned to Marco.

"Do you fully intend to go through with this plan, despite the risks?" She asked, not to convince him against it, but simply to confirm his aspirations.

"Yes," Marco said, with all the certainty in the world. "Earth is my dimension. I'll decide what to do with it. I don't need the High Commission's blessing." Marco couldn't help but shake the feeling that, despite his words, him going through with this was exactly what Heckapoo wanted, no, expected from him after completing his quest. But he wouldn't approach her to confirm that suspicion. This was his decision.

Moon nodded in understanding and then stood up. "Very well. I wish you the best of luck. River, Star, grab your things. We're leaving."

"What?" Star said, not leaving her seat.

"Why?" River asked.

"If they want to get in the way of the High Commission, I want the three of us to be out of the crossfire," Moon said.

"But, what about Marco's memories? You haven't fixed the memory spell yet." Star asked.

"It isn't our problem anymore, Star," Moon said, coldly.

Marco blinked. Wait, shit! They were leaving? Right now?

"Not your problem?" his mom said. "It's your daughter's spell! You need to fix it!"

"Then simply consider this Marco's first test. If he _really_ wants to be a teacher of magic, then learning to manipulate memory magic is an excellent way to start. He has dimensional scissors, so he'll have no shortage of resources at his disposal. I ask that you keep your studies out of Mewni, of course." Moon took dimensional scissors out of her dress' pocket.

"I think we are acting a bit over dramatic," Marco's dad said. "We don't need to take it this far. Especially this close to Star's first year of high school being over. Perhaps Marco can wait a few weeks?"

"Star only came to Earth to learn under Glossaryck," Moon said. "Now that he's gone, there's even less reason for Star to stay here."

"You bitch!" Marco's mom said, not trying the slightest to hide her anger. "after all we've done for you, and all Heckapoo's done to our son, you just leave your problems behind on us?"

"We paid you to take care of our daughter, and offered to punish Heckapoo in a more traditional way, which you denied. That debt is non-existent," Moon said.

 ** _'_** ** _What are you doing? Aren't you gonna say something?'_**

 _'Like what?'_ Marco thought. What could he ever say or do that could make Moon stay? He was planning on breaking the law and risking his life. Could he really expect people to go along with that?

"Actually, Moon," River said, a little embarrassed, "they never took the gold."

"That's not our problem. We offered the gold. That's good enough."

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this?" Star said.

"No." Moon's hand began glowing and a blue aura surrounded Star, slowly lifting her up in the air.

"What the-"

Moon was right. Star didn't get a say. She was just a kid.

Fuck, she was just a kid and Marco was pulling her into this giant conspiracy.

She was just a kid and Marco was giving her a choice that sounded so much simpler than it was, a choice that would take up so much of her life, if not all of it, a choice that would risk her life on such a level that she couldn't understand as just a fucking teenager.

Marco was doing what Heckapoo had done to him.

Moon handed River her scissors. "River, could you please?"

"Um, yes, of course my dear," River said apprehensively. He took the scissors and created a light blue portal similar to the one Moon stepped out of this morning.

It was almost like poetry. It rhymed.

 **"** **Marco, now is** ** _not_** **the time for fucking jokes. Are you even processing what is going on? They're taking** ** _my mom_** **away."**

 _'_ _Sorry. I just can't do it,'_ Marco thought, dully. Whatever he said now, he wouldn't mean it. Or if he _did_ mean it, it wouldn't come off as sincere.

Moon waved her glowing hand and Star started floating over toward the portal.

"But I didn't get to teach him English yet!" Star said, squirming endlessly as if she could break out of her mother's hold if she just moved enough.

Fuck. He still wanted to be friends, but he couldn't exactly just drop his plans like that, right? Would Moon even believe him if he did?

 **"** **Do something, Marco!"** There was this underlying panic in Kar's voice. He didn't know what to do, either.

The distinct image of Star, killed by a group of godlike creatures and bleeding out on the ground, flashed through Marco's head. She was just a kid, he couldn't do that to her.

Moon directed Star's floating body to the portal and for just a moment, Star and Marco's eyes met. In a moment of panic, she started shouting a spell, probably to escape Moon's grasp.

"Sparkle Wake-Up Cuddle Blast!"

Everyone watched as a pink creature erupted from her wand. A brief smile of satisfaction flashed across her face, and then she started shouting the spell over and over, even as her head got pulled into the portal, and the creatures kept coming from her wand.

Moon took a step into the portal, gestured for River to follow, and then they both disappeared beyond the magical horizon.

In the moment before the portal closed, another pink creature popped through it.

Marco just stared at where the portal had been.

Had he made the right decision? Had he even made any decision?

 **"** **What the fuck are all these Grubrats doing here?"**

"They're hedgehogs," Marco's dad said, slowly walking over and picking one up.

"That's the spell Star uses to wake you up…" Marco's Mom said.

"Oh," was all Marco could think to say. He would try to touch one of them, but his hand was shaking too much and he didn't want his parents to see.

He took in a shaky breath.

"Fuck," he said, wiping a couple tears from his eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Chapter 20 Star: "OMG I'm so in love with my best friend I will never let anything separate us ever again I'll always be by his side!"

Chapter 30 Star: wELP

Hey ya'll, sorry for the uncomfortable Season 2 finale allusions. Get ready for Chapter 31 where we see some uncomfortable Season 3 allusions!


	31. Chapter 31: A Pleasant Dream

**Author's Notes:** Not sure you guys will like this chapter or not! Keep an open mind I suppose!

* * *

Queen Moon wanted nothing more but to fall asleep. She had been exhausted for what seemed like an eternity. How many days had it been since she began the trek home? Five? Six? She wasn't sure at this point. She simply kept moving forward in hopes that she was heading in the right direction.

As she trudged along inside the Forest of Certain Death, she began wondering. When was the last time a mewman was foolish enough to enter the enchanted woods without any supplies or survival equipment to speak of? No one that survived, that much was certain. Yet here she was, on the brink of passing out with nothing but her wand and her wits.

Moon looked down at her scepter, the only tool she had. While the royal wand could materialize anything, its potential was limited to its wielder. Without a strong and concentrated mind commanding it, the wand was nothing more than a match for starting fires. Her mind may have been strong, but it was difficult to hold concentration after so long without rest. The wand was practically useless in her hands, and directionless magic would do more harm than good.

Oh, wait! That was what she could use it for. Directions!

She stopped in her tracks and began pointing the wand all around her until the symbols on the crystal read 'SW.'

South-West. The Butterfly Kingdom was just South-West from the forest!

Moon looked behind her. She had been betting on running into Castle Avarius to spend the night there. The Butterfly and Avarius families weren't on the best of terms with each other, but the former diplomats could easily be persuaded with the promise of scratching stickers upon her safe return home. That and, well, it was better than nothing.

Alas, 'missing the mark' had been the theme for these last few months, so it didn't surprise Moon one bit that she had walked passed the decrepit keep entirely.

Moon sighed and resolved to keep moving forward. She just had to keep going. Her kingdom was waiting for her. Two people in particular were waiting for her, and they must have been worried sick.

A strange howl echoed through the forest and Moon let out a cautious gasp. It was hard to tell if the noise's origin came from a mewman or some animal. Argh! She hated the forest so much!

One of the worst things was the way everything looked like it was going to kill you. Trees, grass, slightly darker patches of shrubbery, the vines slowly edging toward her-

Right! Those were all _actually_ trying to kill her. She took a few careful-but-hasteful steps away before they could reach her.

She couldn't stop to rest for even a moment, could she?

Up ahead was a stream, which she was sure had hundreds of Snapping Snakes in it, but crossing it was the only option if she wanted to go home. Bloody fantastic...

As she approached the stream, she assessed it's width and if she could jump across. It would be a close call, and if she missed the edge, she'd be one leg shorter by the time she escaped the snakes' grasp.

Imagine that. She had just become queen not a year ago and she would already need prosthetics. Moon Butterfly, Queen of Peg-Legs.

She shook herself out of those unnecessary thoughts. The stream wasn't going to cross itself. Goodness she was exhausted...

After a few steady breaths, Moon ran forward and jumped with all her might. While airborne, everything seemed to go in slow motion. She recalled hearing war stories from mewman soldiers experiencing this specific feeling in battle, during the height of their adrenaline. They say that fate itself slows down time in moments like this, to decide if you should live through them or not.

Moon felt her boot sink down into sludge and realized that she wasn't out of the danger yet. Her other foot touched down, and she was briefly excited to be out of the snakes' reach, until she started sinking.

Quick Mud! It just _had_ to be Quick Mud on the other side! Moon didn't have much time. She used every ounce of her mental strength to cast her next spell.

"Elastic Appendage Beam!"

A blue phantasmal arm stretched out of the wand, clinging onto a tree branch about twenty feet above her. With her legs already submerged in the sludge, Moon pulled on the tree with all of her might.

Unfortunately, Quick Mud was known to be very stubborn. Once it closed in on a victim's lower half, it rarely let go. Moon couldn't get herself out. In fact, the grip on her was so tight that the tree itself was beginning to tear from its roots as she pulled.

Dammit all! At this rate, the tree was more likely to fall on top of her before it could lift her up!

The roots snapped and the tree very suddenly bent lower, causing a family of rodents to fall into the mud alongside her.

Moon felt the pressure on her legs lighten up as the Quick Mud dispersed it's strength to trap it's newest victims within itself.

She recalled reading about this in a fauna compendium. The mud creature was unable to distinguish the size of its prey, so when multiple animals are inside of it, it will grab onto each one with equal force. It was now gripping Moon with a sixth of its full strength.

This was her chance! She tugged the tree again, and this time the spell was strong enough to pull her body out of the mud, if just barely. Thankfully, the branch at the top was sturdy enough to support her weight.

As she held onto the tree for dear life, Moon heard the cries of the rodents down below. Now that she had a chance to look, she could see that it was a few squirrels that were knocked from their nest. Guilt began to stir up in Moon's stomach as she watch them struggle in vain to escape. She thought of using the Elastic Appendage spell to save them, but it was far too likely she'd end up crushing them in the attempt. There was nothing she could do.

Moon wanted to look away. She couldn't stand seeing such adorable critters suffer like that. But, at the same time, _she_ was the one that did this to them. Even if unintentional, she brought them to their doom in order for her to escape. The least she could do was own up to it.

"I'm sorry…" Moon said, though she doubted her words could be heard by anyone except her. She didn't take her eyes off the the squirrels until they were completely submerged in the mud.

She took solace in the fact that by now they were most likely dead. There were much crueler ways to die in this world, such as having your throat slashed apart by sharpened claws, leaving you gasping for air as you wonder if the blood loss or the lack of oxygen will be what kill you first, while everyone else in the room is too busy processing the chaos to adequately assist you...

The queen looked up at the sky, ignoring that for a moment. She was still technically in danger. Better to focus on the task at hand.

She assessed her surroundings once more and looked to the other thick, winding trees scattered about. They seemed safe enough.

She cast the Elastic Appendage Beam again and used it to swing to the nearest tree. She didn't know how far the Quick Mud reached, but she'd rather play it safe above the ground.

So she swung from tree to tree, always double checking that the branches looked safe enough, for nearly an hour.

It was honestly the longest amount of time she'd ever spent without a deadly encounter. She must have been close to the edge of the forest, where the tamer threats resided.

She was happy it was night, at least. If she was this close to the edge, she'd make it back to her kingdom while everyone was asleep in their huts and houses. At worst, she'd only have to sneak around a drunken homeless or two, and no one would be there to see how stupid and reckless she'd been.

In the distance she saw a wall of vines, completely cutting off the forest from the outside world. She was on the southernmost edge of the forest, just an hour or two away from the edge of the Butterfly Kingdom.

She sped up towards the vines, the image of warmth and proper food sending adrenaline through her body, and before she knew it, she broke through the wall and into the fields past it.

Bright sunlight assaulted her eyes and she simultaneously felt relief at the sight of the cornfields and dread at the realization that everyone would be awake to see her return.

Wow, Moon really did lose all sense of time…

Well, no point in waiting until nightfall. If a queen had failed spectacularly in the task she set out to do, then it was only fair that her people were aware of it.

The final walk to the castle's town went by quickly. Despite the relative ease of crossing the mewman cornfields, a different kind of anxiety brewed inside her the moment she began to hear the hustle and bustle of the townsfolk from afar.

She saw the first inevitably awkward encounter up ahead at the town gate. She was a little relieved to see the two guards patrolling outside the walls. That at least meant _some_ order had been maintained despite her week-long disappearance.

The two armored men spotted her immediately, and assumed a cautious stance. Moon knew she'd need to prove her own identity and explain why she was approaching the outside gates of her own kingdom, alone like this.

"Um, good morning, gentlemen. A fine…. morning we're having?" Moon said. Clearly not much thought was put into that introduction, but she was far more concerned with thinking of a way to prove her identity to them.

The men scrutinized her briefly, and then smiled wide.

"Queen Moon!" one said. "What a pleasure seeing you here!"

Moon frowned. "Sir Bonesplinter, please exercise _some_ caution. I could be an imposter. Or worse, a shapeshifter. Don't just assume I'm the queen just because I look like her."

"Only Queen Moon would berate us like that," the other guard said. "That settles it. You're definitely her."

Moon sighed. "Fair enough, I suppose."

"I see you've had a good hunt!" Bonesplinter said, gesturing at Moon's bloodstained gloves and chest plate.

"I hope you made those monsters suffer for what they did to your mother!" the other guard said. Moon couldn't place his name. Riftgauger? Ripnogger? Something along those lines. He was fairly new to the guard and she was too tired to remember.

"I did not take on this mission by myself to satisfy some thirst for vengeance," Moon corrected. "I'm doing this so that while I scatter the remnants of the monster army, our kingdom's defenses can be at their best. If there was a way to go about this without making _anyone_ suffer, I'd be right on it."

The guard was taken aback. "M-my apologies, your highness. I didn't mean to imply-"

"There's no need to apologize," Moon said. "If that's how you interpreted it, then it's simply my fault for making it seem that way. In the end, the kingdom's safety is more important than misperceived reasonings."

"I… well..."

Sir Bonesplinter elbowed his companion. "Hey, Ribcracker, how about I go open the gate for the Queen, and you can ring the gate bell? The people will be overjoyed to see her return."

Sir Ribcracker's face lit up. "What an excellent idea, sir! Let's not waste anymore time!"

"Oh no no no. That won't be necessary," Moon pleaded. "You're only supposed to ring that bell for emergencies, so we don't want to accidentally cause a panic-"

Ribcracker was already ringing the bell, and a loud clang resonated through the air. The sound of the gate creaking open punctuated the ringing, and the people of the Butterfly Kingdom were already out in the streets, eyes glued on the gate.

Of course, to make matters worse, Ribcracker, in a voice much louder than even Blocq Johanson was capable of, announced to the public, "Queen Moon, the Undaunted, has returned from her hunt, victorious!"

Crowds of people began forming by the gate entrance, as Moon realized that the struggle of returning home had just begun. She took a deep breath a moved forward. Before coming through, Sir Bonesplinter gave her a look.

"I want to thank you, Queen Moon. You inspired a new generation of knights. Ever since you single handedly thwarted that bastard lizard, we've had new recruits joining us every day. The streets are literally crawling with these young knights and squires. They're so restless that you'd think they're _disappointed_ things have been so peaceful lately." The guard chuckled.

"With all due respect, the majority of these young knights and squires are ignorant to the horrors of war. I could see in Sir Ribcracker's innocent eyes that he never fought for anything in his life. Wouldn't he be better off finding a better path than the one leading to his death?" Moon said.

Sir Bonesplinter looked surprised, but choose his next words carefully. "But what path could be more honorable and worth fighting for than the one where you protect what you love?"

A fair response, Moon supposed, albeit a little too childish for her liking. For all they knew, Sir 'Ribcracker', if that _was_ his real name, only joined the guard for easy fame and recognition. There are motivations beyond pure patriotism.

Still, Moon didn't want to be viewed as cynical, so instead she responded with: "Well, for their sake, I will personally make sure the day they fight on the battlefield will never come."

"Ha, well, I wish you luck with that, but don't put too much on your shoulders. Once things get too hairy out there, we'll be here for you." Sir Bonesplinter gave her a casual salute.

"I will try to keep that in mind," Moon said. She walked away without another word to the guard, and headed towards the crowd.

Immediately, people surrounded her, each welcoming her back and congratulating her on the "hunt". Some asked how many septarians she killed, some wanted to know if the fight was difficult, and some were just glad to see her back.

She responded as politely as she could, but otherwise kept trudging towards the castle. More than anything, she needed to know how things hadn't immediately gone to chaos without her, or if it had, how it had managed not to leak into the citizens' knowledge.

And then, once she found out those things, she planned on promptly excusing herself to her room and sleeping for at least twelve hours.

She pushed through the welcoming crowds until the castle gates were in clear view. She made eye contact with a guard and he started lowering the drawbridge for her easy access.

By the time she had made it to the gate, the bridge was down and she crossed it, leaving the elated peoples of Mewni cheering at the threshold. She closed the large wooden doors to the castle behind her and the sound was muffled.

Moon took a moment to just take in the quiet. It was a calm quiet, unlike the tension of the forest, and she had a passing thought to just lay down in the Grand Hall and sleep there rather than deal with the six flights of stairs up to her room.

She shook the thought away with the reminder that she had no idea how all of Mewni wasn't on fire without her for a whole week.

"Moon!?"

It was River, standing on top of the first flight of stairs. His blonde hair was an absolute mess and he was wearing what looked like the gray pajamas the castle would provide for its guests.

"River? Oh thank goodness you're still here. I was worried that when the townsfolk found out I was missing, they'd revolt against you," Moon said.

"That's why I told them you went on an extended hunt for the lizards. It was the only thing I could think of," River said, with a meek smile upon his face.

Moon smiled back at him, as she came to the realization that he was the only Mewman she was excited to see after her "hunt". Even after being gone for so long, River never lost faith in her. That didn't quite excuse the fact that an outsider to the kingdom took a reckless gamble by lying to her people, but for some reason, Moon couldn't quite muster the strength to be mad at him for it. She assumed it was just the lethargicness taking over.

Moon then noticed River's trembling. He was barely supporting himself on the stair rail.

"Are you okay, River?" Moon asked.

"Oh, yes, I'm quite-" River seemed to lose track of his thought and nodded off a little. Had he been kept awake worrying for Moon?

"I think it's time you got some rest," Moon said, at the brink of exhaustion herself.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," he said with a tired smile. "You should get some rest, too, though."

"I will in a moment," Moon said. "I still have to double check the state of the politics, the servants, the menu, the guests, the-"

"I can handle that," River said. "You need the sleep more than I do."

"Oh, but you shouldn't be responsible for the affairs of the kingdom, and-"

"Why don't you _both_ just get some damn sleep? The kingdom won't be gone if you aren't in charge for another few hours, Moon," a familiar voice said from down the hall.

Within seconds, Heckapoo appeared in view, smiling.

"I'm glad you're alive, but dying of exhaustion would really make all that trouble kinda moot, wouldn't it?" she said.

Moon smiled back at her. "Heckapoo, did you take care of the kingdom in my stead?"

"Well, I wasn't about to let _River_ do it," she said, then added. "No offense, River."

River shrugged "No, I wouldn't trust me with the kingdom either." It was funny how he literally offered to take care of the kingdom just a moment ago. At least he was being honest, though.

Heckapoo went up to Moon and engulfed her in a hug. "I was worried about you."

"I can handle myself," Moon said, despite having nearly died several times in the last fortnight or so. "But, thank you… It means a lot." She returned the hug with a weak squeeze, the culmination of the rest of her strength now that she was out of adrenaline.

Heckapoo pulled out of the hug and looked Moon up and down. "Yikes."

"Yes, I know," Moon said. "I planned on at least taking a bath before sleeping."

"Yeah, you smell and look like regret. A bath's a good plan. I'll go start it up," Heckapoo said, walking off to the nearest washroom.

Moon took the moment to breathe and relax.

"Are you sure you're alright?" River asked.

Moon smiled up at him. "A warm bath and a good rest will leave me good as new. The only thing hurt is my pride."

"Was it that bad?" he asked nervously.

"They stole my dimensional scissors," Moon said, taking a deep breath.

"Oh my goodness!" River said. "How barbaric! There really is nothing those monsters won't do!"

Moon chuckled. It was odd hearing that from a Johanson, but, then again, River was the black sheep of that family. Which reminded her… "River, um, how long has it been since you've seen your family?"

River put a finger up to his chin. "I'm… not too sure. Why do you ask?"

"Have you, even visited them once since you started staying here?"

"Oh, well, not really. Time flies when you're having fun, after all!" River immediately regretted saying that. "N-not that waiting around the castle, worried sick about you has been anything resembling fun!" he stammered. "B-but, don't worry! My mother has been sending me letters regarding the affairs of the Johansen Kingdom. Now, comprehending her dreadful handwriting is another thing entirely, but I can assume-"

"River," Moon interrupted, "you've been a great emissary since my mother's passing and you've lifted my spirits in more ways than one, but _maybe_ you should go home. I'm sure they miss you."

River seemed shocked at her advice. "I know you mean well, Miss Moon, but I know my family, and they most certainly do _not_ miss me."

There was something about River's sheer honesty in that statement that made Moon feel sorry for him. The poor thing.

"Although, perhaps I am long overdue for a visit. I suppose coming over one night for supper wouldn't hurt. Would you… like to join me?" River shyly asked.

For just a moment, Moon's heart skipped a beat, but then reality hit her like a stampede and she took a deep breath. "River, I don't mean for one night. I mean for good."

"But then I couldn't be here for you," River said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You're barely useful in this castle," Moon said, not meaning to come off as condescending, but trying to get her point across as clearly as possible. "You've admitted that you're horrible at politics, and you can barely handle choosing a menu for a night."

"So then take me out with you when you leave the castle," River said. "I can back you up on your monster hunts!"

The mental image of shy, quiet River Johanson trailing behind her as they trekked through the forest of death passed through Moon's mind. Then the distinct image of River tripping on an untied shoelace, leading him to die of a heart attack. "You wouldn't last a day out there."

River looked briefly offended. "Excuse me?"

"You are a sweet man, River, but a warrior you are not," Moon said.

River's eyes watered up ever so slightly. "How _dare_ you say that to a Johanson!"

"You may be a Johanson, but you're not like _any_ of your family, River!" Moon said, her voice raising a little. "You aren't strong or fast or imposing! The sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be!"

River's lip quivered and he sucked in a breath. "Y-you're wrong. I'll prove it!"

"Oh, will you?" Moon said. "Would you like to march down here and show me what you really have then?"

Moon was tired, bruised, and broken, but River's eyes went wide and he took a step back. "I, uh."

"Bath's ready," Heckapoo said, breaking the tension like shattered glass and catching Moon's attention.

Despite what she had walked in on, Heckapoo showed no signs of surprise at the verbal fight the two were having. In fact, her indifference to the whole situation was slightly irritating.

Moon gave River one last look. "Go home, River," she ordered, before walking down the hall to the washroom, where the largest bath in the facility was filled with water.

Moon unhooked the armor she was wearing and let it fall to the ground with a resounding clunk. Soon enough, her dirty shirt and pants were atop it, and then her undergarments atop those. She normally took better care of her clothes when she undressed, so that the Wash would have an easier time with them, but these were headed straight for the trash anyway.

Eyeing the tub, she slipped her gloves off her hands and threw them haphazardly on the pile.

"So, you got him, huh?" Heckapoo said, examining the purple veins on Moon's arms.

Moon briefly looked over where the dark residue had spread to after her use of the spell on the most recent Septarian. "Only one. There were three others. They got away."

Heckapoo fully entered the washroom, keeping a safe distance from the water, and finally resting her back against the wall. "Tell me everything."

Moon splashed her face with some water and grabbed a nearby sponge. "After the Mewman Scouting Party sent me the blueprints of the monster village, I teleported there using the scissors. I spent a few hours observing it from the tree-tops, and came to the conclusion that they were hiding the Septarians inside one of their tents. They're considered war heroes, after all."

"Sounds like it wouldn't be easy to get to them alone," Heckapoo noted.

"I devised a plan. I lured one of the non-lizards away from the village using an ear of corn attached to a string. Once he was far enough away, I captured him, gagged him, and tied him to a tree."

"Mhmm," Heckapoo said, seemingly bored with the story already. Moon kept going, though.

"I told him to let his ruler know that I had the place surrounded, and if they didn't tie up the Septarians and present them outside in an hour, we would burn their homes down."

Heckapoo pulled a nail file out from one of the shelves beside her and started filing her nails.

Ignoring her, Moon continued. "I let him go. Less than an hour later, it'd seemed they'd followed my commands perfectly. The four Septarians were bound and on their knees outside the closed gates of the village. They were left to their death. So, naturally, I interrogated them first."

Heckapoo looked up briefly from her nails to show she was still kind of listening.

"I started with the most important question: where was Toffee hiding." Moon paused, taking a deep breath, before splashing the water in frustration. "And it was the same damn answer every time! They had no idea where he disappeared to after I cleaved his finger off, and when I asked if they knew him personally, they all claimed their general was a stranger. Oh really? A Septarian you lot never meet before was able to convince you to disregard orders and attack my mother? He was apparently _that_ good at public speaking, I suppose."

"Never doubt the power of a moving speech, my Queen," Heckapoo said. "And since you've been receiving this same answer each time, we have no choice but to believe them at this point."

"I thought the same, so I-"

Heckapoo motioned her to stop. "You're good, Moon. I get it."

"Well, what happened next is the most important part," Moon said, a little offended.

"I'm sure I can piece it together."

Moon huffed. "I'm positive that you can't."

Heckapoo raised an eyebrow at her. "It turns out the monsters didn't sell their war heroes out. The lizard guys weren't _actually_ tied up, and when you aimed at one of them, the others jumped you. Am I on the money?"

She was. Moon frowned.

"Right, so then you managed to kill one, but the rest got away with your scissors and you had to slog back home."

Moon looked down at her reflection in the now-murky water. "I tried to chase them, but they'd managed to evacuate the whole settlement before I could break through the gate. It became a ghost town instantly."

"Your majesty, do I have permission to speak freely?" Heckapoo asked. Her constant use of formalities such as 'my queen' and 'your majesty' were beginning to get on Moon's nerves, only because she hadn't referred to her that way up till now.

Moon sighed. "Permission granted."

"You fucked up. Big time," she said coldly.

"They got the drop on me!" Moon said defensively.

"Yeah, because you did everything _wrong_. You forgot to check that they were actually bound, you forgot to bring back up, to cover your blindspots, and you acted impulsively pretty much the whole time," Heckapoo said. "And now the enemy has _dimensional scissors_."

Moon walked out of the tub and headed for the nearest towel, feeling guilty for relaxing at a time like this. "I understand. We need to get those scissors back immediately."

"It's been two weeks already! Two weeks of uninterrupted use of those scissors, Moon!"

She was right. The Septarians were no longer making due with the dwindling resources of the local forests. They had the entire multiverse at their disposal. An entire multiverse of new weapons, magic and even scissors they could acquire. Taking that out of consideration, they also had a means to of regrouping with their comrades. Moon felt like trembling at the thought of her months spent scattering that monster army amounting to nothing because of her recklessness.

"We need to tell her immediately," Moon said.

"There's nothing she can do! She can't sense scissors she created, only the portals from them. That wouldn't be reliable enough to track them down, especially if they use them conservatively."

Moon frowned. Well, that plan was out the window.

"The monsters are going to get a second wind now. They're going to form another army and they're going to attack again," Heckapoo said. "That spell won't be enough to scare them anymore."

"But, what can I even do in the face of that?" Moon was a good fighter, but she certainly wasn't going to be able to face an entire army.

"Really?" Heckapoo said. "You _have_ an army! You just have to use it, you moron! Stop going on missions by yourself! Bring backup! Even "Lone-Wolf" Toffee knew the importance of having numbers on his side."

"Backup? I don't want to put any of my people in harm's way," Moon argued.

" _All_ of your people are in harm's way, and it's because of your fuckup." Heckapoo said.

"I'm.. tired…"

"Yes, I'm well aware you're exhausted, and we can deal with this in the morning after you've rested, but you need to be aware of the consequences-"

"No... not that. I'm tired of people dying, Heckapoo. Why does it have to be this way? My mother came so close to achieving peace with those vile monsters, and Toffee just had to step in and ruin everything she worked for. It's not fair!"

"I'm sorry." It was the only thing Heckapoo could think of to console her.

"I hate fighting, and I hate killing, and I hate getting hurt, but as long as I'm the only one dealing with it, I can live with that. But to see my people, young and old, so willing to get themselves killed for my sake. I… I couldn't live with that."

"I get it, but you have to use the resources you've been given," Heckapoo said. "Your kingdom's army has never been bigger. Everyone's inspired to fight for what they love the way you have. Who are you to decide whether they can or can't?"

"I'm their queen?" Moon said. "I don't want them risking their lives for patriotism."

"But if you die, what will happen then?"

"The Magic High Commission will take over?" Moon suggested.

"Oh please. They don't have time for that. Heckapoo is running Scissors Quests right now to make up for the _ahem_ volunteers we lost to the Septarians. Rhombulus is hunting down gigantic monsters that are threatening less developed dimensions. Lekmet's following Rhombulus to heal his wounds. And Omnitraxus Prime is, I don't know, reading horoscopes or something."

Glossaryck was holed up in the book, mourning the loss of Moon's mother, so he wasn't much help either.

"Okay, yes, I can see that they don't have the proper time to watch over the kingdom. Why else would they send a clone to come in their stead?" She groaned and leaned back in her chair.

"Ouch," Heckapoo said, holding her chest mockingly. "But you understand now, don't you? If you don't let the people willing to help you do it, then your kingdom will be without leadership and your people will be slaughtered by the enemy."

Moon frowned. The image of an army of monsters, bursting through the walls of the Butterfly Kingdom and then massacring the helpless townspeople within flashed in Moon's mind. Heckapoo was right. "But I don't know how to lead an army."

"Then learn. You're queen. Figure it out." Heckapoo paused. "I'll help you."

Moon smiled. Okay, so there might actually be some hope in this after all. "Heckapoo, I'm sorry I called you a clone."

She smiled back. "And I'm sorry I called you a queen. It was a real misjudge of character on my part." Moon enjoyed the fact that this Heckapoo was willing to tease her like that. So many of her subjects put her on such a pedestal that criticizing her was out of the question. With her it was second nature.

"I meant that you are so much more than a clone assigned to watch me over. You've been my closest confidant. Sometimes I feel like you're the only person I can trust."

Heckapoo's eyes got a little watery. "Don't get too attached, kid. Us clones aren't exactly built for longevity."

Moon frowned. "Can you promise me that you'll stay with me as long as you can manage?"

Heckapoo nodded. "Sure. I won't go dunking my head in the tub anytime soon. But you have to make me a promise, too."

"Of course," Moon said.

"When I'm gone, promise me that you won't go it alone anymore? Even if you have to work with _River_. Just, stop carrying the world on your shoulders, okay?"

Moon took a deep breath. "Yes. I promise."

* * *

Moon awoke suddenly and shot up in her bed. Beside her, River jumped ever so slightly, but then relaxed.

"Ah. Good morning, Moonshine!" River said.

"Good morning, River. I just had the most peculiar dream," Moon said.

"Nothing too bad, I hope!" he said a little nervously.

Moon smiled. "Do you remember the time I lost my scissors?"

"Of course. We spent days tracking them down together. It was just you, me, and old Chauncey, and... about five dozen others. What an adventure that was," River said with nostalgia.

Moon chuckled. "Yes, the dream was actually about the argument we had prior to that hunt. I remembered thinking how you were too much of a peaceful soul to partake in fighting, and I tried to kick you out of the castle because I thought your life was better spent doing anything else than waiting for me."

River laughed. "Well, it's not like I was going to let my Moonpie kick me out that easily!"

Moon nudged him playfully. "I recall you being on the verge of tears. I felt pretty bad about it after the fact, and planned to apologize, but when I woke up the next morning, you hugged me with renewed determination, smelled my dirty clothes, and lead us through the trail to the Septarians."

"Not in that order!" River said, almost defensively. "I'd smelt the clothes and caught the scent _before_ you woke up. I didn't want to be creepy."

"Ah, yes. You certainly managed that," Moon said with a laugh. "Anyway, I was so overwhelmed by your sudden change in assertiveness, that I never did make time to apologize to you." She placed her hand on her king's. "I completely underestimated you, River Johanson, and I'm so glad you've proved me wrong."

"Aw," River said, blushing a little and cuddling up to her. "Thanks."

For a moment, it was just Moon and River, having a sweet moment in the morning. She reveled in the peace and quiet, free from the constant stresses that being a queen brought to her. From the constant looming threat of the fritz, and the worry of Glossaryck missing, and the numerous decisions her people needed from her, and her daughter-

Moon turned to River. "What time is it?"

"Well, no one's come to wake us yet so-"

There was a quick knock on the door.

"I stand corrected."

The door opened ever so slightly and Belladonna stuck her head through the door, "Good morning, my queen! Oh! And I see King River is awake for once as well."

"I just don't get people who knock and then open the door anyway," River said to Moon.

"Are you ready for breakfast, my queen? And will your daughter be joining us this time, or will we be sliding it under the door for her like an animal again?"

"Bella, you didn't tell anyone that Star was back, did you?" Moon asked. If the Commission found out that Star had to return to Mewni, it could lead to complications…

"Of course not, my queen!" Belladonna said. "But, of course, I've had to stop the housekeepers from cleaning her room, instruct the guards to ignore the room on their daily routes, instruct the chambermaids to collect a pot from outside that room, and gather royal-grade clothing fit for a teenage girl from the wash, so I assume word will spread by the end of the day."

"Ugh," Moon said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Moonpie, we should talk to her," River said.

"Oh, also," Belladonna said, "her cute boyfriend has been waiting in the conference room all morning. Should I tell him Star isn't here as well?"

Moon sighed. Of course he was there. "Is he alone?"

"No, he brought some girl with him, who seemed very entranced by the castle architecture."

It had better not be Ms Thirteen. "Alright. Let me get dressed and I'll meet with him before breakfast."

"And if everything turns out well, maybe you can even invite him to eat," Belladonna suggested with a shrug, before excusing herself from the bedroom.

Moon went over to her wardrobe and started getting dressed.

River gave his wife a look of concern "Moon…"

"River, it's been two days since we left the Diaz residence, and you never once gave me your opinion on what I did. Be honest, do you think I made the right decision?" She finished tying the back of her dress and then pulled her hair up into a bun.

He stroked his beard in thought before answering. "I think… you have a tendency to underestimate people, but I have no doubt that every decision you make is out of love, even when it's doesn't seem that way." River smiled at her.

"That's not a real answer," Moon said.

"I know," River said with a shrug. "But it's more important if _you_ think you made the right decision."

"Fair enough." Moon sighed and looked a her dresser, where two important items were displayed. One was her dimensional scissors, the very same pair she lost and retrieved years ago. The second, was the royal wand. She snatched it from Star after they went through the portal home. After it lost half of it's crystal, it would not transform and would not allow anyone other than Star to use it.

Yet another mystery that fell on Moon to solve.

"You don't plan on using that, do you?" River asked.

"It's just a precaution," Moon said. She may not be able to use it for magic, but she could certainly use it to bluff, if need be.

She grabbed both items from the shelf.

"I'll be joining you for breakfast," she said, before cutting a portal to the conference room.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Sorry if this seems like filler, but actually, a lot of this information will be important later and had to be established.

Hopefully you liked the Moon POV, cause there won't be much of it.

Next chapter takes place in present time, so don't worry about it being entirely flashback or anything.

Thanks for reading!


	32. Chapter 32: A Tame Reality

**Author's Notes:** Possibly the longest chapter in the fic. You've been warned.

* * *

 _Marco flipped a body over and pulled the scraps it had been protecting into his satchel. There wasn't much on this one, just some tattered clothes and shoes. Actually, now that he looked at it, the shoes still had soles this time! It was a nice catch._

 _"I-is it really okay to be doing that?" a man with a few extra eyeballs said._

 ** _"You must be new,"_** _Kar said, rummaging through another corpse. The trampling had left a good four or five today._

 _"I've been here a few days, actually," the man said, not taking most of his eyes off the corpse._

 _"Oh, it's a miracle you've survived this long, then," Marco said nonchalantly._

 _The man seemed timid and lost. It wasn't an odd sight, but it was usually the mark of the kind of people who got trampled at meal time and murdered for the little meat they had on their bones._

 _Speaking of which, Marco had to finish his looting before the Carvals came. He **really**_ _didn't want to deal with them today._

 _"So, um," the man said, "you seem pretty not-psycho." That was a loose definition, considering Marco was digging through a pile of corpses while not batting an eye. "C-could I ask you something?"_

 _"I guess," Marco said. Oh, shit, another body with a sharpened stone! Marco smiled. He needed another knife to cook with. He couldn't just use his stabbing knife. A man of culture always separated the two. "If you're asking for a bodyguard, though, I'll have to decline." He had too many people to look after as it was._

 ** _"It's a gold mine out here,"_** _Kar mumbled to himself._

 _Ignoring Kar, the man continued. "What's with the weird walled-off area in the middle of the courtyard?"_

 _"I heard some crazy guy lives in there," another man, who had begun looting beside them, said. Marco spared a glance and noticed the bear claws the man had. Oh, he had seen him help a child several weeks ago. It was nice to see he was still alive. The kid probably wasn't, but..._

 _"Well, almost everyone is crazy here. What makes him so special?" The multi-eyed man asked._

 _"No, I didn't hear he was crazy, just crazy strong!" yet another prisoner said through his large tusks. "Word is that at the darkest hour, the wall opens for him and he comes out, lurking in the shadows, and steals the newest prisoners to eat for the day."_

 _The new guy shivered. "R-really?"_

 ** _"Yeah, you're probably next,"_** _Kar said._

 _Marco eyed Kar and then looked back at the others. "I've heard he doesn't even wait till night. He just appears, takes what he wants, and then disappears."_

 _"I've heard he takes people like that too!" one of the looters said. "Someone I know once saw someone stare at the wall too long, and they just vanished, taken by the monster inside."_

 _The newbie glanced back at the stone walls and swallowed uncomfortably._

 _Marco looked down at the corpses. They had nothing left of value to him. "What's your name?" Marco asked._

 _"Withinos of Meligram," the man said. Marco frowned. Meligram. That was a good distance away. He was probably just visiting Mirria and got hit with the worst luck in the world._

 _"Marco. Nice to meet you," Marco said._

 _The man smiled. "Yes, you too."_

 _Marco stood up and stretched. "Kar, let's go."_

 _Kar made an annoyed grumble and returned to Marco's arm._

 _His current audience gasped and watched as he bent his fingers into a well-practiced position._

 _And then, with the quick recitement of the correct words, he felt the barrier wash over him and, to them, he vanished._

 _He basked in the gasps of horror and panic that arose behind him as he walked back to his home. He walked through the three feet of solid stone that his personal walled fortress consisted of and then let his barrier down._

 _He stepped across the soft dirt and, before stepping inside, took the the time to examine the inner wall. Partly to look for any large cracks, but mostly to admire his handiwork._

 _The wall was about twenty feet high, and Marco had spent a large chunk of last week painting a mural, covering every last inch of space. Finding the materials to create paint was a pain in the ass, and Marco was no artist, but he still took great pride in it._

 _It depicted the most he could remember from his old neighborhood. The green grass, the blue sky, the single sun shining on it all, and dozens of tiny houses on the hills. Marco was surprised at the small details he managed to remember, even after all these years._

 _Of course, he gave the excuse that painting the walls would help calm Katriena, to help her ignore the fact that they were still in a prison, but he felt like he needed this just as much as she did._

 _Kar materialized from his arm. **"God this whole thing is hideous and amateur. If I had eyes, I'd gouge them,"**_ _he said._

 _"Alright, I can take a hint. Let's go inside." Marco made his way towards the lone house inside the wall, made of scraps, stone, and trash. Home sweet home._

 _Marco went in through the door and placed his satchel on a table. He would be quiet, since it was before dawn and everyone was most likely asleep. Slowly, he pulled the food he'd found and separated it from the other scraps and supplies. It would be enough to feed Katriena for the day, and that was enough. If it came down to it, he could go to the next meal drop for himself and Kar._

 _"Marco?" a tired voice said. Marco turned around and smiled._

 _"Good morning, Katriena," he said._

 _"Good morning, Marco," she said with a small smile._

 ** _"Spider Child! How did you sleep?"_** _Kar said, wrapping around her and squeezing her in a hug._

 _The child screamed as she tried to escape the creature's grasp. The tiny legs on her head instinctually poked at his skin to stop, which was always cute. "Kaaaaaaaaarrrrrrr! You're too slimy! I'll have to take another bath again!"_

 ** _"Ha! That's a sacrifice I am willing to take!"_** _Kar said gleefully._

 _"That's not how that works!" Katriena protested._

 _Marco laughed. "She does have a point, Kar. We only have so much water in here. That well will eventually dry up if we don't conserve it."_

 ** _"Stop acting like moving the house would be anything resembling a challenge."_** _Kar huffed. **"And you humans put too much stake in nebulous concepts like 'cleanliness'. Your ancestors used to do everything naked for crying out loud!"**_

 _Marco sighed. "Kar, we couldn't just move a few feet over and make a new well. That's not how wells work."_

 _Katriena rubbed one of her fangs in confusion. "Um, what's a human?"_

 _Oh, right. "It's kinda the same as a ruman. Where I'm from, everyone is a human, but over here, you're all ruman."_

 _"If they're the same, then why are they called different things?" Katriena seemed genuinely perplexed by this._

 _Marco was gonna hand wave the question, since he didn't want to go into explaining the concept of different dimensions to her, but it got him wondering, **was**_ _there a difference between humans and rumans?_

 _The people outside weren't a good point of reference, but he had seen Allion's naked body plenty of times, and had shot curious glances at his Zonst comrades as they disrobed from their blood-soaked clothes for the day. Marco was no expert in biology, but there wasn't anything different in body structure that he could see. The men had men parts, and the girls (well, at least the one) had girl parts, and they could all pass as humans._

 _And what about Star? She was mewman, and was definitely different from everyone else. She had wings and glowing cheek marks, was crazy strong, and went through a abridged version of puberty known as mewberty, that temporarily turned her into a monster. But were those average mewman traits, or just the result of overexposure to magic? Marco racked his brain to see if Star ever told him these details, but he ended up with nothing._

 _Could a human and a ruman make a baby together? What about a mewman with either of the two? Were they all incompatible, or, somehow, were they all the same species to begin with and were only separated by the names their ancestors assigned them when they decided to label everything?_

 _"Marco?" Katriena said._

 _Kar flicked Marco's forehead._

 _"Ow! Kar, I was thinking!" Marco said._

 _"Strange, I didn't see any smoke coming out your ears," Heckapoo said, coming out into the kitchen._

 _Marco was about come up with a *fantastic* comeback, but Katriena laughed and said, "I asked Marco about the difference between Humans and Rumans and he spaced out."_

 _"Ah, I see," Heckapoo said with a smile. "Not much difference, huh?"_

 _"Well, probably not? I haven't found a difference yet," Marco said. "They're pretty much the same…"_

 _Marco frowned. Wait..._

 _All of a sudden, his brain was going at a million miles an hour. Was there actually a way to save these people?_

 _"There's the smoke," Heckapoo said._

 _Ignoring her, Marco said, "Katriena, why don't you go play in the bedroom for a few minutes. We have boring adult things to talk about."_

 _Katriena frowned. "Do I have to? All the toys in there have already disappeared."_

 _Marco knelt down. "I promise I'll make you something new when we're done here. Why don't you go back to practicing your Riradesh. I really like the stories you've been writing, but you keep ending them on cliffhangers."_

 ** _"That's because she's a child and has the patience of a feral hydra, Marco."_** _Kar said._

 _"We'll be quick," Marco added._

 _Katriena huffed. "Super quick?"_

 _"Super duper quick. I promise."_

 _Katriena sighed and walked to the makeshift door. "Okay, but Kar has to play with me afterward."_

 ** _"Sure, I'm up for that."_**

 _Katriena smiled and closed the door behind her._

 _There was a short moment of silence, and then Heckapoo said, "Okay, what's up?"_

 _Marco turned to Heckapoo. "I need to know. Is there an actual difference between me and rumans?"_

 _"Wow, you're really curious about this, huh? Shouldn't you have been thinking this stuff, say, about a decade ago? When you first started the quest?"_

 _"I was a dumb teenager back then who was fixated with the idea of beating a sorceress at her own game. But now I'm a dumb adult, and am finally starting to see the bigger picture with these multiple dimensions. Plus, it didn't really matter at all back then. I just saw everyone as my fellow comrades and enemies respectively."_

 _"So why does it matter now?" she asked. "What, suddenly you need to know because the five year old asked?"_

 _"She's seven, and no, it's not just because of that," Marco said. "But you still didn't answer my question. Are there any differences?"_

 _Heckapoo stared him down in annoyance, before sighing to herself. "Fine, I'll admit it. I'm not sure what makes you different from rumans."_

 _"What!? But aren't you like, trillions of years old!?"_

 _"Actually, I'm nine years old, you moron. You have to remember that I'm not 'the' Heckapoo, I'm a clone."_

 _"A clone of an all-knowing demi-god..." Marco added._

 _"Ha! That's rich! When you become as well-traveled as her, the first thing you realize is that you don't really know anything, let alone everything. Even with an eternity to experience all facets of life, and the option of multiplying that experience tenfold by living through clones, you'll never have the time to study it all in a meaningful way. There's simply too much of it. The most you can do is quickly determine if it's a danger or not, and then go from there."_

 _Huh. Marco wondered if this was how the real Heckapoo viewed it. It was either that or just another outside perspective he was being fed. He supposed, though, that even being alive for that long didn't mean you knew absolutely everything. A dumbass was still a dumbass no matter how long they'd been a dumbass._

 _Heckapoo continued. "Though if I had to make an educated guess, maybe you're all like dogs, you know? Dogs have all sorts of different breeds, and the differences usually depend on the environment that breed was raised in. So, there are most definitely differences, but they're probably really subtle."_

 ** _"What the fuck is a dog?"_** _Kar asked._

 _"Oh. Right. I forgot they went extinct in this dimension a long-ass time ago. And you were only ever conscious on Earth for a few days, Kar?" Hekapoo asked._

 ** _"Yeah, Marco and Star did not care for my presence, which to be fair, was slightly justified with the whole 'wanting to eat everyone' thing…"_**

 _"You've seen dogs before, Kar," Marco said. "I had an entire litter of them. You tried to strangle them before you could talk, but because they were magic, they didn't have much trouble defending themselves."_

 ** _"Ah, so that's what that was,"_** _Kar said. **"Wait, why are we even having this conversation!?"**_

 _"Good question. What *are* we even talking about?" Heckapoo asked._

 _Marco looked at Heckapoo in the eyes. "Okay, this may sound crazy and far-fetched, but just hear me out."_

 ** _"Oh this will be good."_** _That honestly made Marco more worried with how they'd take this, but here goes nothing._

 _"We've been in this prison for months now. We obviously all came here with different intentions. You came here to hide from us, Heckapoo, and I came here to extinguish your flame because it was the quickest way to contact the real Heckapoo, and Kar here just wanted easy food in the form of scummy murderers no one would miss. But here we are now, living as a makeshift family and operating as a single unit, all because of one unifying cause."_

 ** _"Spider Child…"_**

 _"Yeah, Katriena. We've been doing everything we can for her, but this isn't the type of environment a child should be living in." Marco said._

 _"This is better than being dead," Heckapoo said bluntly. "When you compare her position to the fates of every other child that was thrown into this prison, I'd say she won the lottery. She gets fed, gets to play with Kar, wears clean clothes, and is even getting an education from us."_

 _"But what good is an education here? And yeah, she gets plenty of activity, but in a stuffy house that she isn't allowed to leave for fear of getting shot at. She's no different than a caged animal."_

 _Heckapoo sighed. "We've talked about this, Marco. Escaping wouldn't be impossible, but she'd have nowhere to go."_

 ** _"And like hell we're going to risk trying to bust out of here,"_** _Kar said. **"The people on top probably aren't too happy about the wall we built. They have dozens of eyes on us to make sure we don't try anything. There's too much potential danger with her being in such a spotlight."**_

 _"It'll be fine, Kar, but more to the point," Marco continued, ignoring his concern. "There's nowhere in this dimension that's safe enough for Katriena, which is why we need to expand our options. And do that, we'll need a pair of dimensional scissors."_

 _"Scissors?" Heckapoo said, stepping away from Marco, as if out of instinct._

 _"The quest is still technically going. If we can find the real Heckapoo and blow out her flame, we can use the scissors I earned to get everyone out of Ennio."_

 ** _"And where do you suppose we bring hundreds of mutated freaks?"_** _Kar asked._

 _"Well… how about we take them to Star?" Marco suggested._

 _"Star?" Heckapoo said. "What does she have to do with this?"_

 _"Her wand's the most powerful magic artifact in existence. If there's something that can cure them, it's that."_

 _"Star's not even that good at magic, Marco," Heckapoo said. "You of all people should know that."_

 _Marco raised an eyebrow at her. "And last I saw her, I wasn't really good at **anything**_ _. It's been nine years, Heckapoo. I'm sure she's practically a master of magic by now."_

 _Heckapoo made an odd face, and seemed to consider something._

 _"So, assuming Star can bring these people back to normal, they could live out the rest of their lives on Mewni or Earth, and if they really are just like humans, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Just regular old refugees."_

 ** _"So, what, we're gonna take all the psychos in Ennio and dump them in other dimension?"_**

 _"Well not the crazy ones, obviously," Marco said._

 _Heckapoo scoffed. "And how will you determine a person's level of saneness, Doctor Diaz?"_

 _"I have the Truth Ritual. It'll basically let me look into anyone's heart. We can separate the good from the bad using that."_

 _"And you're on the moral high ground to determine who's good and who's evil amongst them? No offense, Marco but you aren't exactly an angel."_

 _"Hey! Come on now, don't paint me like that. I've only ever killed people in self-defense." Okay, there were also the magic users he had murdered while under the Elesh Court's mind control, but no one could really fault him for that!_

 ** _"Self defense?"_** _Kar said. **"Yeah, so have they. Plenty of people within these walls have killed for the sake of self-preservation, and none of them will admit that it was their fault. The truth ritual will only reveal what they think of themselves deep down. Most crazy people don't actually think they're crazy. They will just think that they did what they had to in order to survive. Even the rapists and cannibals could just hand-wave their actions off as beastly urges due to their new physiology, and for all we know they could be right. There are too many variables with going about it this way."**_

 _"Not to mention, how are we going to shove dozens of these people through dimensional portals without the guards on top noticing? Or the 'crazy' ones who will be pissed that they're not allowed to leave with them. There would be chaos and bloodshed everywhere." Heckapoo added._

 _"Well, damn. Screw me for trying to come up with a solution, I suppose. Maybe it is a bad idea, but it seemed a hell of a lot more productive than just waiting here!" Marco wanted to punch the wall, but he stopped himself for fear of alerting Katriena in the other room, though at this point she was probably eavesdropping on them anyway. It wasn't like these flimsy walls were soundproof._

 _There was a long bout of silence where no one said anything. The only thing that could be heard was the ambiance from outside. The muffled sounds of people shanking each other for the last bits of food for the morning, that is._

 _Heckapoo walked up to Marco and Kar. "This isn't just about Katriena, right?"_

 _"No," Marco said, with a pang of guilt in his stomach, or rather what was left of his stomach._

 ** _"It's pretty obvious. He went from 'let's save Katriena' to 'let's liberate the entire fucking monster prison' in a matter of seconds."_**

 _"Yeah, I guess I'm pretty transparent." Marco looked down. "I'm sorry for using her like that, guys. It's just... every day I have to walk out of this house and see all the lives that I ruined. Mirria was once the most advanced civilization in this dimension, and now it's been reduced to a giant pit, and the unlucky survivors get to spend the rest of their lives deformed and detained in this hellhole."_

 _Marco felt Heckapoo's hand on his shoulder. "You saved these people, dude. They were gonna die anyway once they were caught in the blast radius, but you were able to counter the pure annihilation that would have ended them. Like, yeah, I know it still sucks, but you prevented a lot of collateral damage. This whole dimension would be void of life if you two didn't intervene."_

 _He had heard her say those exact words countless times, but they still failed to comfort him. There **had**_ _to have been another alternative. Why didn't he keep going back to try again? Why was he so content with that first solution? Marco pondered these questions for months now, but he already knew the answer._

 _It was because that every time he went back, he lost a part of himself. It was a crazy gamble just doing it one time, but Marco, so desperate to stop the impending doom, repeated those enchanted words more times than any other soul had._

 _He chanced his life every time, and the first time he made any headway, he lost the will to gamble it all again. The first time that not everyone died, the first time he stopped Galdos in any capacity, he just kept that timeline. He didn't want to risk losing the little progress he'd made, but also, he didn't want to die for nothing. A part of him still wanted to complete this quest and go back home. He missed everyone. It was selfish... or maybe it was just self-preservation._

 _But that was at the risk of all of these people. The people who became monstrous creatures, the people trampled to death in a vain attempt to protect their children, the people separated from their homes and families just because they'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time, the people who had to turn to cannibalism to survive, the people unwilling to and starving when they didn't have the strength to get to the food crate, the children whose parents were killed in front of them and had to live with a broken family in a house made of trash…_

 _"Marco are you okay?"_

 _Marco sucked in an uneven breath. There were hundreds of people in the prison. What would they do if they knew it was his fault? It was his fault that their lives were destroyed, that they were in hell._

 _"Marco, breathe."_

 _He tried to suck another breath in, but it got stuck in his throat. It was like the air itself blamed him for the millions of deaths he could've prevented, if he'd just had the balls to go another round. It was choking him on purpose, as retribution for the sins he'd committed._

 ** _"Marco, calm down, you're freaking out Spider Child."_**

 _Spider Child. Katriena was living in a beyond-shitty home with a trio of strangers who kidnapped her. She should already be freaked out by that. Hell, she should be freaked out just for looking in the mirror. She was probably a really pretty girl back in Mirria, and Marco destroyed her face._

 _Would she forgive him? If she knew what he was responsible for?_

 _He felt a pair of tiny little arms wrap around his neck, and coarse fur rub against his face._

 _It pulled him out of his own head, for just a moment._

 _It grounded him._

 _Katriena was hugging him with all her might. He felt her hair sticking to his face, where a stream of tears had fallen in his haze._

 _"Marco, it's okay to be sad, but you should feel better soon so we can play," Katriena said, nuzzling her face into his shoulder._

 _Before he could respond, something wrapped around his torso and started constricting him._

 _Kar was hugging him. Or, at least, it was an attempt at a hug._

 _All of the feelings that had rocketed through his head, all the emotions he'd been holding in, they all just burst out in fit of sobs and tears._

 _And they just kept hugging him, not moving other than to slowly rub his back._

 _Then, eventually, his cries died down into quiet breaths, and while he felt exhausted and completely spent of all his energy, he simultaneously felt a million times better._

 _"Thank you," Marco rasped, his voice cracking from the strain of all that crying._

 ** _"Don't expect me to ever do it again,"_** _Kar said. **"But… you're welcome, I guess."**_

 _Katriena smiled wide. "Yay! Marco's better!"_

 _"Thank you, Katriena," Marco said._

 _Everything in his being wanted to explain to her how her life had been ruined and how it was his fault, but she was too young to understand The Reckoning. It would only confuse her more if Marco tried to honestly apologize to her, so he was probably better off leaving it be, and trying to make her life better the best he could instead._

 _Heckapoo got his attention with cough and awkwardly handed him a cup of water, which marco graciously took. "Sorry for not joining the hug. Didn't want that kind of waterworks that close to my head."_

 _Oh right. Her flame. Marco laughed a little. "It's fine. I feel a lot better now anyway."_

 _He took a big swig of water and swished it in his mouth a little._

 _And then there was a knock on the door._

 _And Marco promptly started choking on the water and spewed it out onto the floor._

 _"I didn't hear the wall breaking," Heckapoo said, eyes wide at the door._

 ** _"Unless someone with wings managed to get over it…"_**

 _"Not without the guards shooting them down," Heckapoo said._

 _There was another knock._

 _"I'll get it!" Katriena said excitedly. She ran to the door, and Marco was barely able to get up and beat her to the knob._

 _Pushing her behind him, he opened it up, his whole body tense and ready to fight._

 _And standing there was a nervous-looking woman, who didn't appear to have any deformities and was wearing armor and holding a staff._

 _"Uh…" Marco said, kind of in shock. He recognized the crest of her armor. She was one of the wizards Ennio hired to lift down the giant food crate with magic._

 _"Hello," she said very slowly. "Can. You. Understand. Me?"_

 _Before Marco could fathom what was going on, Katriena ran around him and smiled up at the woman._

 _"Hi! I'm Katriena! What's your name?" she said, like it was a normal encounter and like they weren't getting a strange visitor inside a nearly impenetrable fortress._

 _The woman stared, wide-eyed, at Katriena, and said, "You… have a name?'_

* * *

Marco opened his eyes and pulled his head up from his desk. The teacher, Miss Skullnick, was still lecturing about some guy who figured out how to find triangle sides, though it seemed she was more preoccupied with the chalk piece that kept breaking on her.

With a quick glance around, Marco realized that no one in the room had noticed his brief lapse in consciousness. Both Jackie and Janna were writing something down in their notebooks (most likely the things Skullnick had written while Marco was unconscious), and judging by the fact that he finished his flashback, they were too wrapped up in note-taking to ever look up and check on him.

He wasn't upset over it, really. They couldn't babysit him at all hours of the day, and it didn't look like he had missed that much of the class, so maybe it wouldn't take too long to catch himself up? That, and he was almost out of pink hedgehogs, so he didn't want to waste them anymore.

Marco looked back down at his notes, haphazard Riradesh scattered about with intermingled English phonetics, and sighed. This was going to take forever to relearn.

He quickly copied the words from the chalkboard onto the bottom of the page and stared at them. It was gibberish now, but maybe later it would be useful?

"Marco," Miss Skullnick said, ripping Marco out of his head, "Do you think you can answer this one?" Despite her harsh voice, she seemed to understand that it was very possible that he couldn't.

Marco looked to the equation that she had written down and frowned. "Could you, uh, read it out loud for me?"

"Certainly," she said, without a second's hesitation. "X squared plus four squared equals five squared."

"Squared is when its multiplying itself?" Marco clarified. He'd gotten a deep rundown already, but it was a lot to take in.

"Yes, and you're solving for X," she said, somehow with all the patience in the world and simultaneously no patience at all.

"Uh, okay, um." Marco wrote the equation down on his paper in Riradesh and started solving it.

 **"It's three,"** Kar said, bored.

"Kar, shut the fuck up," Marco said. He noted the minor twitch Skullnick did at the F-bomb. Right. No swearing.

 **"I'm right, though."**

"I _know_ you're right!" Marco groaned. "But how the hell am I supposed to learn this shit if you keep giving me the answers?"

"Dude, it's okay," Jackie said from across the room. "You'll get it eventually."

"Mister Karmargorach," Miss Skullnick said, kind of butchering Kar's name, "I did not call on _you_ , I called on _Marco._ "

 **"But we're the same body!"** Kar said.

"You can't insist on your own desk and then say you're not separate," Miss Skullnick said, gesturing to the desk that had been pushed up against Marco's so that Kar could "sit" in it. "You don't get to have both."

Kar frowned. Marco felt a little better in a vindictive kind of way.

"Now, next time you talk out of turn, you're going to to get more than a warning," Skullnick said.

 ** _'Fuck, if she was just a human I would...'_** Kar thought.

 _'You should listen to her because she's an authority figure, not because she can beat you in an arm-wrestle,'_ Marco thought.

 **"Alright, fine,"** Kar said, both to the teacher and Marco.

Skullnick sighed at the lame attempt at an apology. "It looks like we're just about done for the day. Class, please have your homework assignments complete and ready to turn in on Monday. Marco, I'm going to have to modify the assignment to make it suitable for your, er, condition. I'll have it emailed to your parents tonight and they can help you through it."

Marco had no idea what email was, but chose not to embarrass himself by asking about it. "Thank you."

"So… in other words," a student from one of the back rows began. "Marco gets an _easier_ version of our homework. Isn't that, like, unfair?"

 **"You wanna know what's unfair?"** Kar said. **"Imagine if today, right now even, you got kidnapped to a crazy fantasy world filled with war and bloodshed, and you had to survive it all on your own."**

"Kar," Marco said. He didn't want to make more of a scene than they already were just by existing.

Ignoring him, Kar continued. **"It sounds pretty shitty already, right? But there's so much more to it. You spend years there, learning the way of the land. Years turn to decades. You've loved, lost, ruled and ran."**

Marco tried to hide his head under his arm. _'Can you **not**_ _?'_

 **"Then, you find a way back home to Earth, only to find out no time has passed and you have to go to fucking school again, and it doesn't matter if you could kill everyone in the room with your bare hands, because you need to know how to do fucking _algebra._ "**

The kid gulped awkwardly.

"And, for the record," Miss Skullnick added. "It isn't easier homework. it's _more_ homework, because he has to relearn everything."

Then, to top off the conversation, the bell rang throughout the halls.

"Marco, Karmargorach, please stay behind for a moment," Skullnick said.

Marco took a deep breath as the people around him stood up and shuffled out of the classroom. He slowly gathered up his things, so that he could at least leave once she was done with him.

"Marco, Karmargorach," she said, walking up to his desk.

 **"Just call me Kar, _please_ ."**

" _Kar_ ," she corrected. "I know what you're going through is rough. I get it."

Marco frowned. "Do you?"

"To a point, yes. You've been molested by magic, and now you're completely different. Everything around you feels new, you're a godforsaken _teenager_ again, and you've got some intense new strength and monster-parts," she said. "I've been there, trust me."

What she said, _did_ kind of describe him…

"And I know it seems like way too much at once, and everything is hard to do, and you keep _breaking glasses_ -" She frowned. "Maybe not that last part, but it seems like all bad stuff, and I promise it's not."

Marco kept silent, but something was telling him she still had the glass-breaking problem.

"Think of it this way. You're getting a fresh start. Whatever mistakes you made, the time you lost, it doesn't matter anymore. Right now you're just a student with a tentacle arm, trying to get through school, and you have all the knowledge you've accrued through adulthood to help you. Do you know how many people would kill for that opportunity?"

 **"You mean the opportunity to forget how to write and relearn math?"** Kar asked.

"Well, no, I meant more with the social aspect. You might not be able to read English, but I bet you can read people better now. Teens are notorious for making bad decisions because of peer pressure or trusting people who just want to use them. You've probably already had those experiences as an adult, so you're not going to just jump into a drug pit because some cool kids said it was fun."

Yeah, probably not. He'd already been down that route.

"And anyway, would you really have rather come back as an adult?" she said. "No education, no literary skills, and a fish out of water. At least here, you can learn everything all over again, and I will do whatever is in my power to help you do that."

Marco couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I guess I _am_ kind of better off as a teen right now…"

"Not to mention the fact that half my students are damn-near-illiterate anyway, so you're really only a step or two behind them," she said with a shrug.

"Heh, hearing that actually makes me feel better," Marco said, a little surprised.

 **"Yeah, thanks. You just made my job easier, Skullnick,"** Kar said.

"No problem," she said with a handwave. "We already lost Star, so we don't want you quitting on us and leaving too."

Marco frowned. "I mean, it's not like she's dead or anything. She just went back to her home dimension,"

"You're right. The class just isn't the same without her, though," Skullnick said with a sigh. "But I'll let you get to your next class. You're behind enough as it is."

She pushed Marco's back out the door and into the crowd of people rushing through the halls.

 ** _"You know, I think I like her now. I might actually listen to her because she's wise *and* a troll that could beat me up,"_** Kar thought.

Marco was about to respond, but got knocked in the shoulder by a running kid. He balanced himself and groaned. Right, this again. The treacherous halls of highschool. He'd better get to his class sooner rather than later.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a map, written in both English and Riradesh, of the school. He pinpointed the room he'd just come from and figured out that the next class was approximately 8 classrooms down, then a left turn, and then another 11 classrooms. Then it was on the right-hand side.

He took a deep breath and started weaving through the ever-thinning crowd.

He had made it 3 classrooms down when suddenly everyone was out of his way, and the hall rang out with the bell that meant he was late. Galdos damn it!

 **"Don't even worry about it, just get to class."**

Marco nodded and started counting classrooms again. He reached the turn and then counted.

The silence of the halls made it ten times easier to follow his map, so at least there was that.

"Ten… eleven," Marco said, punctuating the final two classrooms.

He quickly glanced in through the window to double check and-

"Shit. Wrong room," he said in dismay.

"You got that right," someone said from behind Marco.

Marco looked behind himself and then up at origin of the voice. It was a six-and-a-half-foot tall guy, who was doing his best to look imposing.

"Uh, hello?" Marco said, as politely as possible.

"Hall pass?" he said with a cocky smirk.

 **"What's that?"** Kar asked.

The man was taken aback briefly, but then regained his composure. "You think you're funny?"

Marco could tell he was a hustler from miles away, but he played dumb anyway. "No, we legitimately don't know what a hall pass is."

The guy frowned and scrutinized him for a moment before saying, "You're Marco Diaz, aren't you?"

"Yep," Marco said. "I didn't realize I was famous."

"How would telling the whole school you went on a fantasy journey not make you the talk of the halls?" The guy laughed. "I guess I'll have to educate you."

 **"Oh, please do,"** Kar said.

The guy took a threatening step forward. Marco calmly held his stance, though it was going to hurt his neck if he had to keep looking up at this guy.

"Did you actually want something from me?" Marco asked, bored. "Or did you just happen to choose me to fulfill your violence quota for the day?"

The guy's eye twitched. "What the fuck did you just say to me?"

"Oh, you know, low self esteem often leads to bouts of violence to assert dominance," Marco explained. "It's a really shitty temporary fix, but if it makes you feel manly for an hour or two, why wouldn't you?"

The guy angrily grabbed the collar of Marco's shirt.

Marco calmly and gracefully grabbed the guy's arm. "Of course, if _you're_ the one who gets beat up instead, you have nothing to value your worth with." He pressed his finger into a pressure point on the guys arm, forcing his hand to seize up and let go.

"Ah, what the fuck!"

Marco let go of his arm and smiled. "Which is why I won't fight you. Besides, I _really_ need to find my next class…"

Marco had probably miscounted rooms. Either that, or there had been a mistranslation at some point and they had actually meant _el_ and not _eleven_.

Lost in his own thoughts, Marco had almost missed the fist coming at him.

He dipped back, letting the punch drift past his nose, and then swiped his foot into the guy's shin, causing him to lose balance and fall with the momentum of his fist.

"I don't want to fight you," Marco said. "I just want to have a peaceful high school experience. Is that so much to ask?"

The guy stood back up and was seething with anger. "Fuck. You."

 **"I guess so,"** Kar said.

Marco sighed. "Alright, so I guess we're doing this the hard way."

* * *

The bell rung out through the halls, startling Marco ever-so-slightly. He hadn't kept track of time.

"Lunch time," Frankie said, stretching his arms up into the air. "Need help finding the cafeteria?"

Marco smiled. "I think I've got it. It's three down, a left, and then all the way to the end."

"And that's three in _my_ numbers, not your numbers," he clarified.

"There's only a difference after nine," Marco said, standing up.

"Yeah, I still don't get it. Math really isn't my forte…"

Marco laughed. "Same here."

"Awe man, that's gotta suck. You escaped math and now you gotta go back to it for four years."

"You're telling me." Marco heard the stampede of people in the halls outside get louder and louder. "I guess I should go out there, huh?"

"Yeah, probably. You could always skip lunch," Frankie offered with a shrug.

"My friends would probably kill me if I kept disappearing on them like that though," Marco said.

Frankie nodded in understanding. "Gotcha. How's your nose doing? Need another tissue before you head out?"

"Naw, I think it stopped bleeding," Marco said, pulling the blood-encrusted tissues from his nostrils. "How about you?"

"I think my whole body's gonna be sore for a few days," he said with a chuckle. "But I'll be fine. A few bruises never killed me."

"And they never will," Marco said, shooting him a look, "Right?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure my dad won't know what hit him."

Marco frowned. "Don't... actually hit him."

"Yeah. I know. It was rhetorical."

"Metaphorical," Marco corrected. He felt a little better about his english now.

"Same thing," Frankie said. "Just get out there before your girlfriends think I killed you."

"Yeah. See ya." Marco walked over to the bathroom exit.

"Thanks for the talk, Diaz," Frankie said, gesturing one final wave and then pulling a lighter out of his pocket.

Marco hoped he was _allowed_ to smoke in school…

"Marco! There you are!" Jackie yelled as soon as he popped out of the bathroom. How desperately had they been searching for him?

"Uh, hi!" Marco said, a little awkwardly.

"Oh my god, what happened to your nose?" Jackie asked.

"Nothing really-"

"He got in a fight with Frankie Orteeze," Janna said, seeming to appear out of nowhere. "Or so I heard."

Jackie's eyes went wide. "You _what?_!"

"It wasn't _really_ a fight," Marco said, kind of feeling like he was explaining himself to his parents.

"That doesn't matter! You could've _passed out_!"

"Yeah, but it's not like I just walked around picking fights with people!" Marco said. "He targeted me."

"I really want those details," Janna said, a curious glint in her eyes.

Ignoring her, Marco said, "Look, the point is that it's handled, everyone's alright, and he won't be bothering anyone anymore."

Janna's eyes went wide. "You _killed_ him?!"

"I- what- no!" Marco said, a little taken aback that she had immediately went to that conclusion. "I just _talked_ to him!"

"Oh, so you _threatened_ to kill him, and he ran like a pussy?" Janna said.

"Ugh, no." Marco groaned. "I just helped him get over his issues and self-reflect upon why he was bullying people in the first place."

Janna frowned. "Uh, what?"

Jackie smiled. "Holy crap, really?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've done it a million times." Talking a teenager out of his funk was way easier than trying to stop someone's heartfelt revenge or convince a broken slave that they could actually rebel against their owner.

"Impressive," Janna said with a smirk. "I didn't think the guy actually had a conscience."

"Everyone does," Marco said with confidence. "Some are just a little harder to find than others."

"This is really cool and all," Jackie said, "but you still skipped class."

"Actually, it was two classes I skipped," Marco corrected. "Frankie had a lot to unload to me."

"That's even worse." Jackie sighed. "If you keep missing class, you're gonna get held back, Marco."

Marco thought about it. "Is that really such a big deal?" he asked.

"Well, a lot less colleges will accept you," Janna said.

"And we'd be in different classes," Jackie said.

"Okay, but if I don't even know if I'm _going_ to college if the first place, and if we can still see each other outside of school or during lunch, does it matter?" Marco asked.

Jackie frowned.

"I guess not," Janna said. "That's your call to make, Diaz. Though _we_ still want to be in the same classes as you next year."

"I know, but the chances of me being able to pass this year are really low. I'll still try to relearn everything before summer, but I know that may not be possible, I've come to accept that possibility and realize it wouldn't be the end of the world. When I first got back, I was so worried about disappointing everyone, but I know that's not gonna happen, even if I _do_ stay back. Hell, even if I can't complete high school at all, I'll find another avenue to succeed in this dimension, and if I can't, I'll just _make_ one."

Jackie and Janna looked at each other before bringing their attention back to Marco. Jackie spoke first. "Trust me, dude, the only way you'd disappoint us is if you gave up entirely. You're right, being held back a year wouldn't be the worst thing ever, but I don't want to hear you talk like that while there's still a chance. At the very least, you should finish High School before deciding what you want to do with the rest of your life. So, no more skipping classes, even if it's to help another student, okay?"

"Yeah, alright, I will admit, part of me talking to Frankie was because he was a nice distraction from school, but I should probably worry about myself for the time being. You have my word, I won't skip anymore classes."

Jackie gave Marco a soft punch on the shoulder. "That's what I like to hear! And if your parents are too busy this weekend, I could always come over and help you through the homework."

Marco smiled. "Yeah, that would be pretty cool."

Janna elbowed Jackie. "Look at you, inviting yourself over to his house like it's no big deal. Though I have to wonder, are you _really_ gonna study with him, or do you just want to put those extra years of 'experience' Marco's had to good use?" She winked at the two of them.

"Oh my god, Janna, you are the worst," Jackie said, blushing. "Don't start giving people the wrong impression about us. Marco's been dealing with enough rumors about him already."

Marco found himself blushing as well, but also at a loss for words. Suddenly, the idea of being alone with Jackie was beginning to make him feel self-conscious again.

Why wouldn't it? He just invited a fourteen year old girl to his house. In his defense, Marco wasn't really an adult anymore, but how did everyone else in the school see him?

People like Frankie had no trouble treating Marco as if he were another vulnerable teenager. Then again, Frankie had his own biases against the adults in his life, and perhaps went after Marco specifically _because_ of what he really was on the inside: a jackass adult who thought he had every kid figured out.

It would be a long time before Marco felt ready to start dating again anyway, but should he be seeing someone his own physical age? Would everyone, knowing what they know, be okay with that? Would someone like, I don't know, Jackie, be able to look past that part of him?

Ah screw it, thinking about this stuff was already making him feel like a creep. If Kar was awake for this, he'd would be giving Marco _so_ much shit right now.

Right, he needed to focus on passing his classes first, and, of course, teaching his friends fucking magic!

"Guys, we should get going to lunch, there's actually a lot I wanted to talk about," Marco said, interrupting the mild argument the girls were already in the middle of. They didn't seem to mind the sudden intrusion, though, and guided Marco to the lunch room.

The cafeteria (which was conveniently labeled with a drawing of a poultry leg) felt a lot different than the last time Marco was there. The room was now bustling with about eighty or so kids, and Marco no longer felt his entire world was crumbling.

As he waited in line for food, ignoring the various conversations around him about TV, drugs, video games, and sex, he kept looking back at the table he sat in several days ago.

It was near that table where Star learned the severity of Marco's problem, and realized just _how long_ Marco had been away from Earth culture. But before any of the guilt for her involvement hit her, she was so determined to reteach him English.

The gesture seemed down right hyperbolic at first, especially for someone as cynical as Marco, but she was genuinely serious and started giving him the basics right then and there. She probably had no idea how much that meant to him.

She'd been so determined to help him that when the basics didn't stick, she attempted to revitalize his memory with magic. If teaching wouldn't work, she'd make him just remember English and fix it that way.

The spell might have been a little too potent, in all in all the wrong ways, but it was the intense effort to fix him that hit Marco the most.

And even when it wasn't about his culture shock, Star stayed with him through the thick and thin. When he'd admitted to killing Toza, she was the only one who believed that there was more to it...

God, he missed Star.

He reminded himself that this was for the best. The Magic High Commission weren't too concerned with general Earth activity to begin with, and now that Star was back on Mewni, they had even less of a reason to monitor it on a large scale. The Powers That Be would continue to ignore the insignificant dimension, and Marco would use that low profile to his advantage.

First he'd start with a small group of friends. Then when he taught them the basics they'd use his scissors to explore other dimensions' magic. Then his friends would teach their friends, and so on and so on. Soon enough magic would spread across Echo Creek and then eventually the whole country.

And once it was that widespread, once it was big enough to catch the attention of the commission, it would be too big for them to do anything about. Their science experiment would be tainted, and the only thing left would be to see how magic would effect a technologically-advanced dimension.

And then maybe Star could come back and visit and-

"Pizza or chicken patty?" a lunch lady asked, pulling him back to reality.

"Oh, uh, pizza, I guess," Marco said.

The lady slapped a brick of bread, with barely any sauce and cheese on it, onto a plastic tray and handed it to Marco.

"Thank you," Marco said, taking the tray. It looked unappetizing compared to most of the Earth food he'd had recently, but it was still better than most of the food he'd eaten on his quest.

He slowly made his way back to the table with his friends and placed his mostly-empty tray down in front of him.

"Marco! How's your day been?" Ferguson said enthusiastically. His tray was already devoid of food. Alfonzo, on the other hand, was cutting his chicken patty into smaller pieces using utensils. Marco could only assume that he gave the buns to Ferguson.

"Going okay, I suppose," Marco said. "By the way, guys, even though it went against my own wishes, I do appreciate you telling everyone about how I was gone for sixteen years. Everything is a lot easier than if my stubborn ass had tried to keep it a secret from the school."

Alfonzo cleaned his mouth with a napkin. "No problem, Marco. We knew everyone would be cool with it and try to help you! And now you're more popular than ever before. I recommend basking in the attention before you're brought down to our level of relevance again."

Marco looked around and saw many kids passing looks at him, only to turn around as soon as eye contact was made. 'Popular' was one way to put it, he supposed.

"Alfonzo, you _do_ know that most of the kids don't even believe Marco went through any of that in the first place?" Janna said while finishing the crust of her pizza.

"Is that true?" Marco said. "But… the signs in the hallways..."

"It was mostly the school staff who were ordered by Principal Skeeves," Jackie said. "He was pretty skeptical about it, but didn't want to risk getting sued by your parents for not taking it seriously."

So, everyone was only doing anything to help him because they _had_ to. Most of them thought he was some troubled kid looking for attention. Well, except for Skullnick, that is.

 **"It makes sense. Who would actually believe you went to another dimension for that long when you look the same to them?"** Kar said, coming out of Marco's arm to join the conversation. Jackie jumped a little at the intrusion, and Marco noted several students glancing his way.

"But wait," Marco said. "What about Kar? Doesn't that kind of prove that I'm not making everything up?"

"Oh, not even a little," Janna said with a handwave. "You had him as a monster arm months ago, and everyone thought it was a weird disease or something. You getting it again just makes it seem like a relapse of whatever you had before."

Yeesh, people were way more likely to go to science as an explanation than assume it was magic…

"So… um, where's Julie? I was expecting her to sit with us." She was honestly the first person Marco thought of when deciding he would teach magic to humans.

Everyone stared at Marco blankly.

"Julie who?" Ferguson asked.

"He's talking about Starfan," Janna said, resting her chin on her open palm. "She only ever comes to school if Star does, so who knows if she'll ever be here again..."

"Oh! Yeah…" Alfonzo looked down.

Well, that brought the mood down a little. After some silence and awkward coughs, everyone looked at Marco expectantly. He had been vague the entire morning as to why Star was forced by Moon to come back to Mewni. They could tell it was still a sore subject for Marco, so they had given him the space he needed until he was ready to retell what exactly happened yesterday. Marco sighed.

 ** _'I still can't believe you choose this stupid ambition of yours over your best friend,'_** Kar thought.

 _'If I could take back what I said, I would, but there's no way we can convince Moon that we wouldn't try to bring magic to Earth at this point. Besides, at least this way, Star is 100% safe in case this all backfires in our faces. Isn't that for the best?'_ Marco thought.

 ** _'But Star finally accepted me, and she was gonna make me a body…'_**

 _'There's a chance we can make you a body without Star, and if we go through with this, we could help a lot of people here. We're going to prove that to Moon and the High Commission. Besides, since when are we the type to put others' needs over our own?'_

 **"Heh, point taken."** Kar said. **"Alright, I guess it's about time we got their opinions on your little plan. Go ahead."**

"Kar? What the heck were you responding to?" Ferguson asked. "No one said anything."

"They can communicate telepathically," Jackie said. "That's what they're usually doing when staring intently into each other's eyes. At least I hope that's the case…"

 **"I don't have eyes,"** Kar said.

"Whatever," Janna said. "So what's this _plan_ you're talking about?"

Well, Kar really forced his hand on that conversation.

 ** _'You're welcome.'_**

Marco took a deep breath. "Okay, so... I want to teach you all magic."

Jackie raised an eyebrow at him. "To rescue Star?"

"No, Star doesn't need to be rescued. Her mom just took her home because she decided it wasn't safe on Earth anymore."

"What?" Ferguson said. "Why? No offense, but I've been to other dimensions, and Earth was never as dangerous as _those_ places."

"Star's mom took her back because she thinks my plans to introduce magic to Earth does make it dangerous," Marco said, "and she's right."

Janna frowned. "So she got taken _because_ you want to teach us all magic?"

Jackie added, "And what do you mean, 'she's right'?"

"The Queen of Mewni works under the Magic High Commission, an organization that controls _a lot_ of dimensions, including ours. They have a strict rule against magic on Earth and she doesn't want Star in the crossfire if they were to find out what I was doing. I don't want her in the crossfire, either."

"Then why are you going through with it?" Janna said. "It sounds like Star's getting grounded for a stupid reason and you're the only person okay with it."

 **"Oh, he's definitely _not_ okay with it, no matter how much he tries to convince himself,"** Kar said.

"I'm not okay with it, but what's done is done. Star would've been in trouble anyway if she stayed, especially because she's royalty and she has more to lose," Marco said. "But, without her around, no one will notice the magic until its too big of a problem for them to squash."

"I'm a little confused. Who exactly are these high commission people?" Alfonzo said, trying his best to grasp the impossible concepts Marco was throwing at him.

"Simply put, they are powerful and immortal demigods who have been enforcing this idea that we are too stupid and weak to handle magic, despite the benefits it could do for our society."

Everyone took a moment to consider what he was saying.

"Marco," Jackie began. "Star was talking to me about the Magic High Commission when you were passed out two days ago. She'd described them as 'scientists for magic.' If they _are_ centuries old and seem to really know their stuff in regards to magic, then maybe they have a point?"

Marco blinked. "Umm, what?"

Janna, Ferguson, and Alfonzo looked intently at Jackie, as if she was speaking out the exact same concerns they had.

"Let's be real here, magic as a concept is pretty terrifying. To be able to summon creatures to do your bidding, conjuring energies that could tear a building into two, and sketchy stuff like spying on people. Do we really want those powers in the hands of a normal person? Isn't there a lot of inherent risks with _everyone_ on Earth having those powers?"

"That's why I'm starting with a small group, Jackie. Together we'll learn magic that can only be productive to society, and then teach it to everyone else. It's not my intention to give new ways for dictators to win at warfare."

"Still though, I'm not sure if we could handle it," Jackie looked down. "When Star and I went inside her wand to find her Book of Spells, it was one of the most terrifying things I ever went through. I wanted to cry because of how helpless I felt, but Star was able to hold her own just fine, even without her wand. I'm just, not sure."

"Star was able to hold her own because she'd been through crazy adventures a million times before, not because of some inherent ability to handle it better," Marco said. "I was terrified the first time Star took me to another dimension, but by the time I'd been on a few dozen adventures, I was able to take on a crazy quest and do something that people train their whole lives to accomplish."

"Yeah, but that's _you_ ," Jackie said.

"It doesn't matter who it is! _Anyone_ can adapt to a new society. How fast did people stop travelling on horseback after cars were invented? How fast did everyone have a TV after they became easy to make?" Those were the only two examples his brain could think of that applied to Earth, so hopefully his point would get across. "Just think of it as us inventing a new technology, and working to get it to everyone to improve their way of life."

Jackie frowned and seemed to think on it.

"And I've seen what magic can do to improve life in Heckapoo's dimension," Marco said.

"No offense, Marco, but that place seemed like a hellhole," Janna said.

"Well, yeah," Marco said. "But that had little to do with magic and more to do with the crazy environment. When everything in the world is trying to kill you, and there's constant threat of famine or disease, there's a little more stress on people's shoulders and it makes them," he tried to think of a good word, "more asshole-y."

Janna shrugged, seemingly fine with that answer.

"But there was a place in Heckapoo's Dimension without the famine and disease, and where most of the inhabitants lived comfortably. It was guarded from predators on the outside by mages, and the farmland was enriched with enchanted soil." Marco said. "It was as close to a utopia that world could have and the most densely-populated kingdom. All because of the free trade and open use of magic in its infrastructure."

"Wow," Jackie said. "I didn't think that place had anywhere like that. Why didn't you just live there?"

Marco frowned. "It, uh, got corrupted by an anti-magic cult and eventually got destroyed from within."

Jackie frowned.

"But that isn't the point. The point is that magic created a utopia in _Heckapoo's Dimension_. Imagine what it could do on Earth!"

Everyone seemed to consider that for a moment.

"So," Marco said, a nervous little tickle in his stomach, "who's in?"

Jackie and Janna both raised their hands. Ferguson and Alfonso, who had been silent the whole time, did not.

"Sorry, Marco," Alfonso said, "but I almost died because of magic."

"Yeah, we're not gonna play with fire when we were already burned," Ferguson said. "I mean, we've been on adventures with you guys before, but almost being possessed by a vengeful demon for the rest of my life made me reconsider things."

Marco nodded. "Okay, I get it." He wasn't gonna force them. "Do you mind if I teach Jackie and Janna around you?"

"Oh, be our guest," Ferguson said.

"I'm actually a little uncomfortable with it, so is it okay if I just go?" Alfonso asked.

"Yeah, sure," Marco said with a shrug.

"Awesome. Have fun with your magic," Alfonso said. He stood up with his tray, and then started walking off.

Ferguson had a moment of hesitation and then got up and ran after him. "Wait up!"

They were both out of the cafeteria within a minute, and then Marco, Kar Janna, and Jackie were sitting by themselves.

"So, this is the first testing group, huh?" Janna said.

"I guess so," Marco said. "Are you guys ready for your first session?"

"Right here in the cafeteria?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah, why not? We have like a half hour left of our lunch," Janna said.

Marco pushed his tray aside and took a deep breath. "Then it's settled. The first lesson starts now."

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Before Moon has her conversation with this mysterious 'cute boyfriend' of Star's and his female companion, let's see how Marco's doing a day prior!

Yeah sorry to jump around the timeline like this. We probably should have moved the Moon portion to after these Marco chapters and made it more chronological. Oh well.

Either way this is by far one of my favorite chapters I've worked on, and the length of this one is insane, so it's practically a two-for-one!

Tune in next time where Marco teaches his first lesson, and a certain incident comes to light.


	33. Chapter 33: At Least Remember My Name

"Close your eyes. Focus on the flow of the sounds around you; the dozens of voices having conversations, the clanks of forks against trays, the scratches of items being pushed and shoved across tables, and finally, focus on my voice. Now that you've heard all those sounds, crashing with each other and scattering across the room, imagine if you could concentrate them into one solid sound, into one solid being," Marco said. "That's how magic works."

Jackie and Janna opened their eyes and looked about as confused as Marco thought they'd be.

"There's magic in the air, constantly fighting itself and scattering and dissipating, sometimes chaotic and sometimes tame, but always present whether you can feel it or not."

That seemed to somewhat help them understand, but he'd told them to wait on the questions till he was done.

"On Earth, for the most part, the magic is tame and barely present, like the chirping of crickets or the whistle of the wind, whereas in Mewni or Heckapoo's dimension it's more like this cafeteria, with wild amounts of magic in every nook and cranny. This makes it easier to control on Earth, but weaker overall."

He still had their attention.

"The magic in an area isn't the only type, though. There are also magics within most living creatures, which usually reflect the environment they're in or the sources of magic around them. Different types of magics use these different sources and have different potencies."

So far, they seemed to get it.

"Contemporary Magic, which is the main type I'll be teaching you, uses the magic within oneself. Enchanting Magic pulls the magic from the environment and concentrates it into an object or person, usually with a specific ability or spell in mind. Demonic Magic pulls the energy from souls, which contain an enormous amount of magic but are extremely dangerous to work with. And Ritualistic Magic requests the borrowing of magic from a higher being, usually with a negative consequence."

He could see a few questions on the tips of both their tongues, and was glad they chose to hold them back for now.

"The order I just described them in is the order of power, with the weakest being Contemporary Magic and the strongest being Ritualistic Magic. I know a little bit of all four genres of magic, but I tend to stick to those two. I mostly used Rituals, actually, but they aren't the only type of Ritualistic Magic. They are the most powerful and reliable type of Ritualistic Magic I've ever seen, though. A lot of higher beings are very wishy-washy with how they handle mortals using their magic."

Janna bit her lip, obviously using all her power to hold back her comments and questions.

"But because the Rituals are so dangerous and powerful, I won't be teaching them to anyone. I'll start with teaching you guys Contemporary, and we can move on from there eventually."

Jackie was gripping the edge of the table and, even though Marco was done speaking, he almost wanted to keep going just to see how long they could actually go without talking.

Unfortunately, Marco was a _good person_ so instead he said, "Any questions?"

Janna slammed her hand on the table. "What's the 'higher being' thing?"

"Oh," Marco said. "They're a type of being that have so much magical energy in their system that _their_ Contemporary Magic is god-like and near-limitless. So, usually, because they want followers or they're bored or something, they'll loan it out to people without innate magical ability for a price." At least, that was the general gist of what was written in books and runes. Marco had a feeling it was pretty on point, though. "Sometimes a higher being could just be an item or artifact with a lot of magic in it, though. That's kind of where the lines get blurry between Enchanting and Ritualistic Magic."

"Okay," Jackie said, "So then what's the higher being you speak to or whatever with your Rituals?"

"Beats me," Marco said. "All I know is that whatever it is, it's really powerful and keeps to its guns. And it apparently works across the multiverse, which most Higher Beings are incapable of. It's even more shocking considering the time-dilation effect between Heckapoo's Dimension and here. That's why I didn't even consider using Rituals during the Mask Tag game. I didn't think they'd work."

Jackie frowned. "Wait, so you borrow power from this thing and let it do shitty things in return, and you don't even know what it is?"

Marco chuckled at her. "Millions of people pray to a god they don't even know exist every day. I have proof mine is real at least."

Janna grinned. "Did you just dis every religion on the planet?"

Marco frowned. "Oh, no, definitely not. People should believe whatever gets them through the day. You know… so long as it doesn't hurt anyone or summon an apocalypse."

"Summon an apocalypse?" Jackie asked.

"Higher beings aren't always good. In fact, almost all of them have some ulterior motive for what they do."

"Like summoning an apocalypse?"

Marco coughed. "Yeah."

They both gave him an odd face and he realized he'd have to explain further, even if it was way off topic by this point.

"Okay, for example, there's a higher being that goes by the name of Galdos. It spends millenia as a non-corporeal being, with no body or presence, just observing as society grows and culture spreads, looking for a seed of fear to grasp on to. Once it finds one, it digs itself into the minds of people, pushing them together into a cult that worships it, and manipulates that cult into gathering enough magic together to finally summon it into our world, where it takes the form of a dragon the size of a town." "

Marco took a breath.

"At that point, it attempts to wipe out all life and all magic from the world in one big feeding frenzy."

Jackie and Janna looked terrified.

"The moral of the story is don't trust higher beings," Marco said.

"How…" Jackie gulped. "How do you even stop something like that?"

"You stop the summoning ritual before it completes," Marco said.

There was a moment where he let that sink into their heads.

"And that would be why I'm teaching you Contemporary Magic," Marco concluded.

"Gotcha," Jackie said.

"So, when do we get to actually _do_ the magic?" Janna asked.

Marco thought about it for a moment. "In probably three or four more lessons? You have to have a firm grasp on the concepts and be able to direct your energy before you can actually do anything with it."

Janna groaned. "Wow, boring. I wish Star was here…"

Jackie seemed reluctant to agree, but eventually said, "yeah, it'd be a little more fun if she was teaching us too."

Marco smiled. "If Star was teaching you, she'd just be all 'you just gotta feel it!' and 'go pew-pew'. You wouldn't actually learn anything."

Jackie sighed. "Yeah, you're right. I still miss her, though."

Marco frowned. They all missed Star.

But, maybe he could take a lesson from her in how to make this all a little more exciting for the two of them…

"How about we go on a quick field-trip?" Marco suggested.

Jackie quirked an eyebrow at him. "Dude, you are _not_ skipping any more classes."

"Don't worry. This will take less than five minutes. I promise." Marco said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

Jackie seemed unconvinced.

"Look, I'm not Star. That much is obvious," Marco said. "If I say it'll be five minutes, it actually will be five minutes."

"Okay, then I'm down," Janna said, a tinge of excitement in her voice.

"Sure, it can't hurt, right?" Jackie added, a little nervous.

Marco smiled wide and pulled out his scissors. "Then let's get educational," he said, cutting open a portal in the middle of the cafeteria and gesturing for them to enter.

They both took tentative steps in and Marco followed after them.

On the other side, a large black and purple temple stood before them, with two gigantic pearl-white doors in the front, at the end of a long stone pass.

The temple itself was surrounded by dozens upon dozens of statues and sculptures, each one depicting a different person. The majority of them represented a rugged and bearded warrior dude packing some unrealistically proportioned muscles. Others showed centaurs, sphinxes, angels, krakhens, and other common races of the dimension. While Marco did not understand the native language here, every single statue was labeled with the same title, or the same name, to be exact.

It was only a guess, but Marco assumed that each of these statues represented the artist's interpretation of the higher being's appearance. However, these things were clearly hundreds of years old, and were overgrown with the surrounding vegetation. It made sense. As exciting as this place was, once you learned of its purpose, you'd have no reason to go or come back here. The unkempt nature of this area represented the denizens' indifference to this place.

As it stood, the Temple of Grong was a hot spot for interdimensional travelers who were lucky enough to be fed only the vaguest details.

"Whoa," Jackie said, impressed at the towering structure.

"Yeah. We're going to go inside that," Marco said, leading the way to the doors.

"So what is this place?" Janna asked, following close behind him.

"I'll explain once we're inside," Marco said.

They reached the doors, towering high above them. With a simple push, they opened wide, into a pitch black void.

"Nice," Janna said.

"Follow me," Marco said, walking in.

Around him the world went black, but he knew he just had to turn around to leave.

"Holy crap," Jackie said. "I can't see a thing. Are you _sure_ this is safe?"

"Very," Marco assured.

They heard the distant sound of the doors shutting behind them.

 **"** **Why are you here?"** A booming voice said, compelling an answer out of everyone in the room.

"I'm just chaperoning. Just pretend that I'm not even here," Marco said.

"He brought us here," Janna said.

"I don't really know," Jackie said.

 **"** **Very well,"** the voice said. **"Your wish shall be granted."**

"What?" Jackie said.

The doors reopened behind them and a strong gust of wind blew all three of them out into the light and onto the dirty ground.

"Ow," Janna said. "What the hell was that all about?"

" _That_ was a higher being," Marco explained. "It grants one of the duller wishes you have knocking around in your head while you're in there. Star took me once and I ended up with an infinite bag of chips." A bag of chips that he really could have used on his quest, to avoid starving as often as he did.

"Um, why didn't you just tell us that to begin with?" Jackie asked. "Knowing that ahead of time would've made the dark spooky temple a little less dark and spooky.".

"And how do we even know what wish got granted? I had so many random thoughts going through my head in there. I feel kinda gypped!" Janna said.

Marco shrugged. "It only grants wishes to people who don't know that it grants wishes. It's stupid and ridiculous, like most Ritualistic magic."

They both frowned.

"And you'll find out what got granted later. Sometimes it takes up to a day, but it still makes your day get just a little more exciting, right?"

"Nothing… _bad_ will happen, right?" Jackie asked.

Marco shook his head. "It's a weird higher being, but it seems to be a good one. But you can see why dealing with them could get really annoying and contrived, right?"

"Yeah, I think I get it," Janna said. "But it's still pretty cool that we got a wish granted!"

"Just don't count on it changing your life or anything," Marco said. "Most people get disappointed by what they end up with. That's the supposed 'negative effect' it comes with: regret for not thinking of something cooler."

"Then I guess I won't raise my hopes very high," Jackie said.

"You're already doing better than I did," Marco said. After hearing what the temple did, he'd really hoped he'd end up with Jackie or at least go on a date with her. Eventually he did, obviously, but it was weeks after the temple ordeal, and he'd ended up with those chips instead anyway.

"We should head back," Jackie said, looking down at her phone, "lunch is almost over."

Marco nodded and cut open another portal. They all stepped through into the cafeteria. A few of the kids there gave them some looks, but went back to their conversations soon after.

"Hey, can the next lesson be after school or during the weekend so we can actually get something done in it?" Janna asked.

Marco smiled. "Yeah, sure. Whenever you guys want to. I just thought the chaos of the cafeteria was a good starting point."

 ** _'_** ** _Oh, yeah, definitely. You sounded totally sage-like and wise,'_** Kar thought.

 _'_ _I thought you were sleeping.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Of course you did. I'm allowed to just be quiet and let you have your stupid lesson, you know. I'm capable of shutting the fuck up sometimes without being unconscious.'_**

 _'_ _Well, thank you for shutting the fuck up for my lesson, then,'_ Marco thought.

 ** _'_** ** _Well, I did doze off for a bit, but you're welcome.'_**

Marco rolled his eyes, and they landed on where Jackie and Janna were gathering up the garbage from their lunch.

Janna looked up at him and said, "Oh, you done?"

"What?" Marco asked.

"You were talking to Kar, right?" Jackie said, tossing the stuff in the trash bin.

"Was I that obvious?" Marco asked.

"Dude, you went quiet and then ignored us," Janna said.

"Shit, sorry," Marco said, feeling like an asshole. He walked over and grabbed his own tray of trash.

"Oh, it's no biggie," Jackie said with a chuckle. "We figured out what you were doing right away. We get it, Kar can be pretty attention-grabbing."

 **"** **I'm not sure if I should be insulted,"** Kar said, forming in Marco's arm and making him drop the tray he was holding.

Marco groaned and then started picking up the trash with his free hand. "Kar, some warning?"

Kar scooped up all the trash and deposited it in the bin. **"Oh, don't be a pussy."**

"I see you're enjoying your freedom to come out whenever you want," Marco said.

"I would," Janna said. "Annoying you would be just an extra benefit."

 **"** **This girl gets me,"** Kar said, with a shit-eating grin.

Marco laughed a little. "You are going to be the most inconvenient-"

The bell rang.

Right. Class.

"On to science class!" Janna said, punching a fist in the air mock-enthusiastically.

Marco followed behind them as they made their way through the halls to a half-filled classroom. Sitting at the teacher's desk was a skinny young blonde woman with glasses, who had probably just became a teacher this year or something, because she was definitely younger than Marco.

Or, wait, younger than Marco had been in _Heckapoo's Dimension._ He was younger than she was _now._

The teacher was hunched over and deeply focused on writing on a small stack of papers.

"Marco, your seat is over here," Jackie said, patting a desk helpfully.

"Thanks," Marco said before making his way over and sitting there. He was sitting pretty far from both Jackie and Janna, so he'd be mostly on his own this period.

The bell rang again and the rest of the students filtered over to their seats. Then, the teacher cleared her throat and stood up, holding a stack of papers in her hands.

"Alright, I've given you all fair warning on this test. You've gotten the review papers. I've told you exactly which chapters to study," she said. "There is absolutely no reason you should not pass this test."

Marco could think of a good reason. But also, apparently a few other kids could as well, because nearly half the class looked _very_ nervous. Even Janna looked nerve-wracked in a way Marco hadn't seen before.

"No one is allowed to speak until the end of the class," the teacher said. "I don't care if you finish early or not."

And then, she walked down the rows of students, putting a packet on each of their desks.

Marco swallowed uncomfortably and stared down at his desk. Here was to another failed class.

But when the teacher got to him, she put a singular paper down onto his desk. "Sorry about the illiteracy thing, Marco. I guess just look at this periodic table or something while everyone's test-taking. I'll figure out what to do with your lessons during the weekend and go over it with you on Monday."

Marco blinked. "Uh, okay," he said, a wave of relief washing over him.

He could immediately feel the harsh glares of the other students, who were still forced to take the test, but Marco could deal with the entire student body hating him, if it came to that. It was almost nothing compared to the bounty on his head.

The teacher made her final rounds and then leaned back against her desk. "Alright, that's everyone. I hope you studied."

"Hey, uh, Ms. Z?" Janna said, raising her hand nervously.

The teacher turned to her. "Yes, Janna?"

"You forgot to give me a test," Janna said.

"Oh! No, you don't have to take the test, Janna," Ms. Z said with a smile.

Janna froze. "What?"

"You already passed the test, you don't have to take it," Ms. Z repeated.

Oh. That was Janna's mundane wish that got granted. Apparently this test was causing her quite a bit of mental grief. He felt a little bad for taking up her lunch time with the magic lesson when she could have been studying, but then again she didn't seem like the type that would bother doing that last minute.

Janna seemed to come to the same conclusion about the wish, as a look of epiphany mixed with delight crossed her face.

"You've already passed every test this year, actually," Ms. Z said, "so you don't really have to come in anymore if we have a test, okay?"

Janna smiled devilishly. "Okay."

For all the glares Marco got, no one seemed to bat an eye at the fact that Janna didn't have to take the test. Marco wasn't sure if that was the wish's fault or if the class just liked Janna more than they liked Marco.

The only person with a reaction other than Marco and Janna was Jackie, and it wasn't really the reaction he was expecting.

Jackie had definitely come to the same conclusion as they had, but she seemed really nervous about it instead. She bit at her nails and fidgeted as she took her test, while sneaking glances back at Janna that only seemed to make her more nervous.

Hm. Marco would have to ask her about it later.

In the meantime, he could try to decipher the paper in front of him. At the edges of his brain, the shape of the table looked familiar, but he had no idea what it was for, other than "science".

Still, he knew the alphabet a little better now, so maybe he could just work on recognizing them on the table. As he looked down at the paper, enough of it looked familiar-

 _Marco stared far more than he should have at the woman across the room. She was sipping at a drink, looking at the hustle and bustle of the bar aimlessly, which, by itself wasn't unusual. It was just that-_

 ** _'_** ** _Marco swore the woman across the room looked like his childhood crush,'_** _Kar thought, causing Marco to frown._

 _'_ _Please don't do this again,' Marco thought back._

 ** _'_** ** _Marco argued with the voice in his head, narrating his every thought and move.'_**

 _Whatever. If Kar wanted to screw with him, the best solution was to ignore it._

 _Either way, the more he looked at the pale, blonde woman, the more she looked like an adult version of Jackie Lynn Thomas. The piercings really sold it._

 ** _'_** ** _Marco took a swig of whiskey in anticipation of getting some tonight,'_** _Kar thought, as Marco did just that._

 _Marco attempted to ignore Kar and watched as the Jackie-look-alike took the last few sips of her ale._

 _Then, he-_

 ** _'_** ** _Marco sauntered over to the hot chick so he could buy her some more alcohol, because no one would fuck him sober.'_**

 _Keeping a straight face, Marco said, "hey, mind if I buy you a drink?"_

 _She looked up at him and flashed a smirk. "Only if you get me the good stuff."_

 ** _'_** ** _Marco couldn't actually afford 'the good stuff', but he was willing to use up his transport funds if it meant he'd have a chance with her.'_**

 _Marco nodded and motioned for the bartender to come over. "I'd be happy to. It's only fair if I get your name in return."_

 _"_ _Vintias," she said, looking up and down Marco's body. "And you?"_

 ** _'_** ** _Marco was already excited-'_**

 _"_ _Marco," Marco said. Fuck._

 ** _'_** ** _So excited, in fact, that he completely forgot to use his alias.'_**

 _'_ _You fucked me up, Kar. That was your fault.'_

 _"_ _Marco?" Vintias said, a smile stretching across her face. "Like THE Marco?"_

 _Well, no getting out of it now. Marco played it cool and said, "The one and only."_

 _She licked her lips. "Hot. I've never been with an outlaw."_

 ** _'_** ** _Marco was now completely done thinking with his brain.'_**

 _"_ _Well, no time like the present," Marco said, placing a hand on her chin._

 _She smirked again and then leaned into a kiss, which got very heated._

 ** _'_** ** _And then Marco sucked face, hoping his mediocre kissing skills would be passable enough to lead to something more.'_**

 _Marco tried to stop thinking about Kar and let himself melt into the kiss._

 _Did it mean something that he'd been attracted to this woman just because she looked like Jackie?_

 _Did he just have a type, or was he trying to relive his lost youth, knowing it was taken by the scissors quest?_

 ** _'_** ** _Marco was desperate to get this particular line of thought out of his head, it was really messing with his technique and-'_**

 _Something came at Marco's head and he grabbed it before it made contact. He pulled out of the kiss, annoyed that someone had interrupted him, and then looked at the offender._

 _He was gripping the arm of the Jackie-look-alike (who he'd already forgotten the actual name of), and she had a look of shock on her face._

 _"_ _Shit, sorry!" Marco said, letting her arm go. "Instant reflexes, hah."_

 _Instead of being awkward about it, though, she just ducked to the ground and picked up what she'd dropped- a knife._

 _Oh! She'd been trying to kill him. Gotcha._

 ** _'_** ** _Marco shouldn't have drank as much as he did, or he probably would have noticed that earlier.'_**

 _Well, Kar wasn't wrong._

 _Not-Jackie held the knife up defensively in front of her._

 _"_ _Couldn't we have just had a good night?" Marco asked with a sigh._

 _"_ _Your head is worth enough to build me a castle," she said, flipping the knife around her hand in an attempt to look menacing._

 _"_ _Yeah, but I'm pretty hard to kill," he said with a shrug. "You'd have had better luck if you tried to kill me in my sleep afterwards."_

 _Not that she'd succeed even then, either, but then at least Marco would've gotten something out of this ordeal._

 _Marco took one last good look at the girl. Her sloppy stance and the way she was holding the knife told him everything. This girl was no professional bounty hunter, but a poor girl who thought she was at the right place at the right time. He wouldn't feel right killing her in self defense, her resemblance to Jackie notwithstanding._

 _With a heavy sigh, Marco turned to go._

 _"_ _Hey, wait! What are you doing?" Not-Jackie said._

 _"_ _Getting a wagon before I waste any more money on alcohol," Marco said._

 _"_ _We're not finished here!"_

 ** _'_** ** _They were absolutely finished there.'_**

Marco pulled his head off the desk, and the people around him were still entranced in their test to even notice he'd passed out. A quick glance around the room showed Janna doing something on her phone and Jackie finishing the last page of her test.

A few other students were completely done and had empty desks, and a few more were panicking and desperately trying to finish before the end of the class, which was in about 10 minutes, if Marco was reading the clock right.

He looked at the paper the teacher had handed him, and it was covered in a little drool. Marco realized that he really wouldn't be able to survive school if he kept passing out for half the class. He needed to somehow fix this over the weekend.

Maybe he could involve Jackie and Janna in this as some sort of group project? They could go to a dimension that has specialized mental magic and learn from a professional there.

He still had a few hedgehogs left. Maybe they could dissect one and discern its properties. Find a way to produce whatever gets him out of the flashbacks.

As Marco thought to himself, he watched idly as Jackie got up from her desk and handed the test to Ms. Z. She quietly went back to her desk and buried her head in her arms. Marco kept wondering if she was okay.

…

 ** _'_** ** _What are you planning to do about her, kid?'_** Kar asked in his head.

 _'_ _I'm surprised you aren't narrating again,'_ Marco thought. _'And as Marco glanced over at his childhood crush, repressed feelings locked within started to resurface,'_ He waved his hands around for emphasis.

 ** _'_** ** _Naw, I've learned my lesson since then. I was a much less mature demonic curse when I first learned to telepathically communicate, and I've grown since then.'_**

 _'_ _That was five years ago. You haven't grown that much.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Yeah, well the threat of listening to that stupid song over and over again in your head was enough to get me to break that habit.'_**

Marco snapped his fingers. _'Oh right! You mean Space Unicooorn! Soaring through the stars!'_

 ** _'_** ** _Gaaaah God fuck no with that!'_** Kar slapped Marco with his right hand.

"Ow!" Marco said.

Ms. Z looked up from her desk and glared at Marco.

Oh yeah. No talking.

 ** _'_** ** _Sorry. My point still stands, though,'_** Kar thought. **_'You have to talk to Jackie.'_**

 _'_ _About what?'_ Marco asked, looking over at her.

 ** _'_** ** _You have to figure out what you guys are, for one, and get that whole thing straightened out. Then there's that whole nervous thing she's got going on right now, which probably has something to do with the sudden onslaught of magic invading every aspect of her life.'_**

 _'_ _I know I should help her through that,'_ Marco thought. _'But I have no idea how to approach the whole relationship thing.'_

 ** _'_** ** _Well, do you know what you want it to be?'_**

Marco thought about it for a moment.

There was a part of him that wanted more than anything to be in a relationship with her, but it was entirely ruled by teenage hormones and puberty.

But Marco, or at least the Marco he was _now,_ had no idea what to do about the whole situation. In some moments, he felt like a kid, and in others he felt like an adult, and that made the whole relationship thing so… complicated.

It was creepy and wrong if he ended up with someone, no matter what age they were at this point. If he eventually reverted completely back to a teenager, mentally, then it would be the best thing in the world to date the girl he'd been head-over-heels for his whole younger life, but right now…

He was in a purgatory, halfway between adulthood and childhood and not really either.

 ** _'_** ** _I mean, isn't that the definition of being a teenager?'_**

Was it? Or was he just trying to find an explanation when there was none?

Marco pulled his hand through his hair. This was all way too much. He needed a drink.

He snuck another glance at Jackie, and his inner teenager was content just being in her presence. Meanwhile, his inner adult saw a kid being way too overwhelmed with everything she had to deal with all of a sudden.

God, the poor girl. Her boyfriend suddenly became an aloof douchebag and forgot they were even dating, she immediately had to deal with life-threatening magical situations, and then one of her best friends had to go back to her home dimension, possibly to never be seen again.

He'd be nervous and overwhelmed, too.

Marco took a deep breath. Yeah, he could figure out the weird relationship stuff later. What mattered right now was that Jackie needed his help.

 ** _'_** ** _And when has Marco The Freedom-fighter ever backed down from helping someone?'_**

Marco almost laughed. _'Yeah, okay. You got me there.'_

He looked back over at Jackie, who nearly jumped out of her skin when the bell rang, but she wasted no time leaving the classroom after the initial fright.

Marco frowned. Jackie's next class must have been on the other side of the school, or something. It was a big enough building that it would make sense for her to be in a rush like that.

Or at least, Marco hoped it was just because of something simple like that.

 _'_ _I'll talk to her at the end of the day,'_ Marco thought

* * *

Marco's last two classes, Literature and Programming, went by relatively quickly. The crappy thing was that neither Jackie nor Janna were in those classes with him, but besides that they were actually pretty pleasant.

While he didn't get the hang of written English just yet, Marco was still able to participate in Literature. His teacher actually seemed to believe his _whole_ story, and so made the lesson entirely verbal, and reviewed a couple of the myths that they'd been been reading about.

Marco made a connection between Beowulf (which was the current book they were working on) and a myth common to Heckapoo's dimension. When he spoke up about it, his teacher's eyes lit up and she urged him to continue. Eventually, the class turned into Marco telling the tales of old, myths and legends that permeated through his quest, and the rest of the classroom, students and teacher alike, listening rapturously and occasionally interrupting with comparisons to their own myths and legends.

The parts that really caught their attention, though, were the points where he mentioned _meeting_ the creatures or people of myth. Most of the time, they were something that had been misunderstood and turned into a humongous monster, when in reality it was an animal with a large shadow, or just a person with a deformity. But other times, it was an _actual_ giant bird spirit cursing a mountain, or a higher being with a grudge against a town.

It went far too fast, and Marco was actually disappointed when the bell rang.

The Programming class also proved to be productive. He explained his lack of knowledge to the teacher and he helped him with the basics of computer-use while the rest of the class worked on projects they'd been given.

Marco had no idea what those projects could have even been. He'd forgotten how advanced these things were. Were they making websites, or just delving into the way the machines worked? He wanted to ask, but he felt kind of like an idiot about it already. It didn't help that they all used jargon that he couldn't understand.

He ended up asking the teacher if there was a way to find out his password, either from his own computer or from the ones they were working on. His teacher just told him that the whole point of passwords were that they were a protection against unauthorized people accessing personal files, so if they were easy to get any other way, that would make them pretty bad at their jobs.

Marco thought that made sense, and also it meant that Janna was a powerful person to have access to those things.

As the final bell rang, Marco no longer felt the same sense of dread and embarrassment he felt walking in this morning. He actually felt like he had a chance to pass this year. The teachers were actually quite accommodating. He left his last class and headed for his locker.

As the metal door opened, Marco reflectively guarded his body with a textbook as a pink hedgehog launched itself at him.

He didn't know why, but the hedgehogs Star made were quite affectionate towards Marco and only him. That, or they _really_ wanted to stab him with their quills. He wasn't sure which explanation was more likely, but he'd rather only let them poke him while he was unconscious.

He shoved the thing back into his backpack, which was reinforced on the inside with some steel plates his dad had loaned him, just to make sure the quills didn't poke through the bag.

"Maybe it's a better idea to to bring your backpack to class," Janna said as she and Jackie approached Marco. "You know, so the hedgehogs can wake you up anywhere, and not just when you happen to pass out near your locker?"

"Hmm, good point, but these guys won't stop struggling, and that would get really annoying really fast," Marco said, trying to close the zipper on the creature. "I think we should just try and cure the problem, not the symptoms. And when I don't need these little guys anymore, we can just release them into the wilderness."

"Wouldn't that... negatively impact the environment somehow?" Jackie asked sheepishly.

"Well, we're on a mission to bring magic to Earth, right? So I say we let em loose and observe the ensuing chaos." Janna said.

"I can't really see them lasting that long regardless, but it would be cool to monitor them somewhat." Marco was curious what would happen if the pink hedgehogs mated with the local ones. Maybe some cool magic hybrids would result from that. Every animal in Heckapoo's dimension had magical properties. Though that only resulted in making them harder to kill and more likely for them to kill you, so maybe releasing them _was_ a bad idea...

"It doesn't really matter what will happen if you're just going to run out of them anyway," Jackie said. "Which you're dangerously close to doing, by the way."

Jackie was right. Marco was down to seven hedgehogs already. Now they were really an emergency-only resource, in case he ended up stuck in memory-purgatory again.

"So then, what's the plan?" Janna asked. "We can't just expect Marco to get better willy nilly, right?"

"You guys free this weekend?" Marco asked. "We can go exploring some dimensions and study their magic. For safety, we'll only go to the ones I have enough memories of. We can look for a cure to the memory spell while we learn. You know, cut off two hydra heads with one sword."

"Sounds good to me," Janna said. "I'll go to the store and buy some snacks. This can be an all day thing, right?"

Marco smirked. "I don't see why not."

"Um… I know you're excited to get the ball rolling on this magic stuff, Marco,"Jackie said, "but you're still illiterate, and have missed a lot of school. Shouldn't we prioritize that?"

"That's what Sunday's for," Janna argued.

"Well, we don't even know what my wish was yet. I don't exactly want to pile on the magical mysteries until it blows up in our faces."

Janna had a look of epiphany. "Oh man! What if your wish was to make Marco literate again?"

"I couldn't read any of the words in any of my classes after the wish," Marco said. "And before you bring it up, I also had a flashback in science, so that's not cured either."

Jackie frowned, obviously unnerved by this piece of information.

"It's okay, though! I'll get it eventually," Marco said.

"That's not it," Jackie said, looking at the ground. "It's just…"

Was the whole magic thing really freaking her out this much? "Jackie, what's wrong?"

She took a breath. "We really don't know what my wish was, and I'm kinda scared it'll be something big."

Marco put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "It won't be anything dangerous. It's always something you wanted. I wouldn't have taken you anywhere that could hurt you."

Jackie didn't reponsed. She seemed frustrated that no one was apparently getting her point. To be fair, Marco wasn't even sure what said point was.

 ** _'_** ** _Don't wave this off as teenage angst. The last thing she needs is to be treated like a weirdo for not accepting this magic bullshit with open arms. Talk to her about it,'_** the not-so-subtle-voice in his head said.

Marco sighed, and turned to Janna.

"Do you mind heading home without us? I need to discuss things with her."

Janna eyed Jackie and nodded, seeming to get the picture. "Sure, I'll go ahead and assume the plan is still on, and head to your house tomorrow. If things had to change, well, you and your parents can just shoo me away. No big deal."

She made her leave without uttering another word to them. Marco was relieved she didn't punctuate her exit with a smart comment about him and Jackie being alone again. That filter she had was one of the reasons she was a good person, after all.

Marco took a moment to make sure she was completely gone, and then said, "Jackie, what's really bothering you?"

Jackie looked around, double checking that they were alone. "It mind-controlled people, Marco!" she said.

"What did?" Marco asked, suddenly not understanding at all what she was talking about.

"Janna's wish! It took regular bystanders and went into their brains so they'd be okay with her not taking a test!" Jackie said. "No one in that room had anything to do with her wish, but they were used to make it come true!"

Oh. It made pretty good sense to be upset about that. "It didn't really hurt them, though," Marco reasoned, trying not to seem like he was undermining her concern.

"I know no one got _hurt_ , but they didn't consent to having their brain rearranged! What if I wished to get my boyfriend back? Would you just wake up tomorrow morning without any memories of your quest?"

Marco felt the sting of that possible wish. Not to mention how something like that would affect Kar.

Jackie frowned, realizing she may have gone a bit far. "I wouldn't wish that. I _didn't_ wish that. I'm... sorry."

"It's okay," Marco said, smiling to comfort her, "I would get it if you did."

Jackie sighed. "Maybe I'm just being overdramatic. I get that. But I find something horrifying about this. Humans are scatterbrained creatures who think things that we would never act upon. So to have this 'higher being' come out and do it for me, without any tangible consequences… What if I was pissed off at my dad for grounding me, and then after visiting that temple, he died in a car crash? No one could even question it because every witness was under the wish's influence, and was made to believe it was an accident."

She was shaking.

"Who deserves that kind of power? Who gives away that power? How limited is it? You make it sound like understanding magic is possible but I don't really think it is. And that's terrifying!"

Marco frowed. "You're right. Magic is terrifying and powerful."

Jackie looked relieved that Marco seemed to agree with her.

"It can be unpredictable, intense, and falls into the wrong hands far too often," Marco said. "But that's exactly why I want to teach it to you guys."

"What?" Jackie asked.

"Magic is everywhere. It's in the air we breathe, in the creatures around us. The High Commission wants Earth to be free of magic, but they're only trying to stop humans from _using_ magic."

Marco smiled.

"It's not going to hold forever, though. Sooner or later, magic will worm its way into the minds of people across the planet, and there'll be full fledged wizards walking the streets."

"So then why even bother with all of this?"

"Because I don't want babies running around with guns," Marco said. "If we understand magic, we're less likely to shoot ourselves in the feet with it."

Jackie scratched the back of her neck. "I don't know…"

"You don't have to do it, Jackie," Marco said. "If you don't want anything to do with magic, that's okay. We can still hang out all the time. We'll still be friends whether you decide to do this or not."

Jackie smiled, and then wiped a little at her eyes. "Thanks, Marco. I, uh... really needed to hear that."

Marco hugged her. "I'm sorry it came off as an ultimatum. If you're uncomfortable, it's always okay to back out."

Jackie returned the hug and then pulled away. "Thank you."

Marco found himself blushing a little. "Yeah, anytime," he said. "And if you ever feel like it's too much, you can reach out to me for help."

"Thanks, I-" Jackie paused. "Wait, don't you not have your phone anymore?"

Marco could have slapped himself. "Right. Yeah."

Then, an idea hit him.

He handed his dimensional scissors to her. "Take these. If you need me, just pop on over to my room."

Jackie barely even glanced at the scissors. "Are you sure? You went through a lot to get these."

"Then you can just borrow them temporarily, and I'll get you your own pair one day."

Jackie's eyes went wide. "What? No-"

Marco laughed. "I mean a shitty pair from Quest Buy. I don't intend to go on another quest."

Jackie laughed awkwardly.

"But really, it's okay. I don't need them right now. It's well worth it if it brings you peace of mind."

Jackie smiled. "If you're sure…"

"I'm positive."

Jackie grabbed the scissors and put them in her pocket. "Thanks, Marco."

Marco scratched the back of his head. "Oh, no problem."

Oh. right.

"Actually, can you cut me a portal to my room?" Marco said.

Jackie chuckled. "Uh, sure. But I've never been in there."

"That's okay," Marco said with a shrug. "Just the concept of my room should be enough."

"Okay, if you're sure." She took out the scissors and cut open a portal. "There you go."

Marco smiled. "Thanks." Then, he stuck one foot in and then stopped himself. "Wait, will I see you tomorrow?"

Jackie thought about it for a moment. "Yeah. If I decide not to learn magic, I'll still let you know in the morning."

Marco smiled wide. "Awesome. Then see you tomorrow," he said, disappearing through the portal.

* * *

Marco's room was now a complete mess. He had turned the entire thing upside down just to find one item, and he was pissed that it still eluded him.

None of the drawers had it, and after a thorough examination of his bed's underside, the only things he ended up with were a magic vacuum, a video game, some utility pack that you wear as a belt, enchanted pixie gemstones, a skull mask, lots of his own hair for some reason, a pamphlet for some island made of garbage, a shirt with a hot dog on it, a frilly pink dress, and, finally, a worn out porn magazine. Some cool loot in it's own right, but not what he was looking for.

 **"** **Why don't you try out the kitchen? It is food, after all,"** Kar said as he slithered out from the bed's bottom.

"Ah, right! Good idea!" Marco exclaimed. He assumed he wouldn't have left such a magical item out in the open like that, but then again he was a stupid-ass teenager so who can say.

Marco rushed out of his room and headed for the stairs, but not before looking at Star's room, or more specifically, what had _been_ Star's room.

The room she had been living in for so many months was a spell in it's own right, and Star was, either intentionally or not, keeping it around using a little of her energy through the wand.

If Marco had to guess, his friend was either forced by Moon to convert the room back into a normal guest bedroom, or Star no longer had the wand, and couldn't channel her magic into Earth from Mewni.

He didn't want to waste time speculating on what happened between Star and Moon after that pure shitshow yesterday. Star was probably beyond upset, and wanted to find a way back to Earth, and Moon wouldn't let that happen, for obvious reasons. Marco felt like he had made their already strenuous relationship even worse, and who knows how long it would take for Star to listen to her mother.

Or perhaps _he_ was the one Star was upset with right now. Was she expecting him to rescue her? To portal to Butterfly Castle, escape to Earth, and adopt her as a permanent member of the Diaz family? She _had_ to know something like that would never work out.

Maybe one day she would forgive him, but Marco in good conscience could not guarantee her safety if she helped him, not with the Magic High Commission's strong connection to her family.

He promised himself it wouldn't take another sixteen years before they could be friends again.

Much less enthusiastic than a minute ago, Marco slowly went downstairs and into the kitchen, hoping to get Star off his mind.

His parents were in the middle making supper.

"Hi honey! Hello Kar!" his mom said excitedly. Though she was smiling, her gritted teeth betrayed a different emotion entirely. Still mad at Moon, probably. Marco though _he_ had a bad mouth until yesterday night…

"Hey Mom. Hey Dad. What uh… are you making for dinner?"

"Oh, it's very special dinner, to congratulate you on completing your first full day of school since coming back!" his dad said.

And yet Marco skipped two classes today… "You didn't have to go that far. I… wait, are those nachos!?"

"Yes, your favorite!" his dad beamed. "The same way you used to make them!"

Kar interjected. **"The way Marco used to make them? Isn't the point of a congratulatory dinner is that the food's at least edible?"**

His mom laughed. "Oh Kar, I'm sure you're exaggerating. Marco loved cooking ever since he was young. He had quite the knack for it."

 **"** **You're a good mother, Angie, but your son can't prepare a decent meal to save the lives of several orphans, let alone his own life."**

Both of his parents winced at how uncomfortably specific that was.

"Nothing grew for miles in the Plains of Wrath, Kar. What the hell was I supposed to do with rocks and twigs?" Marco asked.

 **"** **Fried rocks and twig stew,"** Kar said in a pompous tone.

Marco's dad clasped his hands together. "Well, I'm sure it would've been a very delicious twig stew! But let's focus on the nachos for now."

Marco wanted to argue further, but decided to help his parents prepare dinner instead. Eventually he'd mention how Kar had completely different taste buds from a human, so it wasn't really fair if Kar couldn't appreciate his cuisines. The guy ate bowels for god's sake! It was a miracle they both liked ice cream.

For the next ten minutes, Marco and Kar assisted his parents with the nachos. Thanks to Kar sketchy body, he had no problem placing all the silverware and plates on the table, while Marco relearned the processes for making nachos with his folks.

It was actually very enjoyable. Marco realized that this was the first calm moment he'd spent with his parents since coming back. Sure, the absence of Star still loomed over them, but for the first time since yesterday, the small family of three, er, four, were finally able to enjoy each other's company again.

There was a knock at the door and Marco's dad went to get it. Meanwhile, Marco grabbed napkins and started cleaning off the silverware at the table where Kar had left some slime.

His mom put the big plate of nachos in the middle of the table, and Marco had a sudden thought.

"Hey, Mom, where did you get the tortilla chips for these nachos?"

"Oh, from the open bag in the pantry," his mom said, licking her fingers where some cheese had fallen on them.

Marco glanced over at the pantry, where a single open bag of chips sat.

 ** _'_** ** _Found it,'_** Kar thought to him.

"Hey, how long have you used that same bag of chips?" Marco asked.

She frowned. "You know, now that you mention it, it seems like we've been digging at it for forever. I had assumed you were replacing the bags, but with the hospital and everything, I guess that's just not possible."

Marco chuckled.

"What is it, honey?"

Marco smiled. "I think I just solved world hunger, Mom."

Then, his dad came back into the kitchen with a sullen frown. "World hunger will have to wait, son. The police are here. They would like to speak with you."

* * *

Jackie opened the door to her room like there might be a bomb behind it, but in reality, it could be anything. She still had no idea what the effects of the wish could have been, and even if Marco insisted it wouldn't be bad, it was just so unpredictable.

When she came home, she told her parents that she wasn't feeling good and wanted to go to bed early, which they were okay with. In the few minutes she interacted with them, Jackie made sure there was nothing off about their personalities.

Thankfully, they seemed normal as ever. It wasn't like her dad had handed her the keys to a new Harley or anything like that.

She took several careful steps inside and then slowly closed the door behind her. She surveyed the rest of her room, and nothing seemed different.

Still, she took every step intentionally over to her desk and then sat down in the chair. So far, so good.

Marco had said the wish was supposed to happen by the end of the day, but Jackie realized she should have asked if it was just a general term, or if midnight was the deadline for whatever it was to rear its ugly head.

She took a deep breath. If she had to wait till midnight, she would.

Or, at least she _thought_ she would…

It only took about 20 minutes before all the adrenaline drained from Jackie's body and she was just tired and bored.

Would she even know if the spell had already taken place?

What if it was something she wouldn't see the effects of until much later? Like a stronger immune system? Or slightly better eyesight after being annoyed with the darkness inside the temple?

Jackie groaned. Why did this all have to be so complicated?

With a resigned sigh, Jackie walked over to her TV and turned it on. Maybe there was some shitty cooking show to pass the time.

She flicked through the channels with the buttons on the cable box (she'd lost the remote ages ago) until she landed on a ghost hunting show. At least those made time go by quick.

Then, she walked back over to her bed and sat down. She slowly leaned back until her head hit the pillow, but it felt like there was something solid underneath.

Annoyed with the discomfort, she pulled the object out from under her head and looked at it.

And then her stomach dropped.

An old, worn book, with pages jutting out at odd angles and bloodstains on the leather cover as well as several pages within.

It definitely didn't look like it'd come from Earth.

It _definitely_ looked like it was whatever she'd wished for.

For what seemed like forever, Jackie just stared at it.

Should she read it?

Should she just throw it away?

Jackie got up and turned the TV off, not taking her eyes off the book, as if it would disappear if she did.

She made her way to the desk and placed it in front of her.

Should she give it to Marco?

Curiosity gnawed at her. What was it? What wish did it grant?

With a shaking hand, she unhooked the twine that bound it shut and opened it to the first page.

It was a diary. Just the structure of the first entry gave it away, without her even reading a single word.

But why would-

Oh.

Oh no.

It had to be Marco's. Jackie sucked in a breath. She had Marco's personal journal.

It was the only thing that made sense! A journal that looked like it went through hell and back, as an answer to a wish in her subconscious?

Not that she'd wanted to read his journal, but…

Jackie swallowed uncomfortably.

She had to return it. It wasn't hers, and it was invading his privacy, and it was probably mostly in that weird language anyway-

Not that she would even read the english part!

Yeah, she'd definitely return it.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

Jackie took the dimensional scissors out of her pocket.

All she had to do was give it to him.

All she had to do was-

Wait, since when had the scissors had Marco's name on them?

Jackie looked down at the scissors, which very clearly read "Marco", but simultaneously was still the weird runes that she remembered being on them.

She could read his name now?

Her eyes darted back to the journal.

No, there was no way she could-

Just to test it, and definitely not due to any curiosity on her part, she flipped to a later page of the journal.

An entry about Marco saving a town from pirates filled the page, with details about what mistakes he made, and what people he failed to save in time.

And it was in Riradesh.

And Jackie could read it perfectly.

Jackie closed the book like a demon was going to pop out of it or something and took a step back.

She could read his journal. Every last page of it.

She could find out everything he'd hidden from her.

Even beyond that stuff he confided to Star.

She could really know him, instead of the projection he was giving off.

But, was that any different from Star's spying?

Jackie paced back and forth, staring at the journal.

She'd been on Star's case for ignoring privacy and yet here she was, considering the idea of going through all of Marco's inner thoughts and troubles.

That was so much more in depth than just watching Jackie and Marco's date, but Jackie didn't go out of her way to get his journal either. It was given to her, by Marco's own lesson.

Would not reading it spoil the lesson?

Would she break some cosmic rule by not completing the wish?

Jackie shook her head. She was pretty sure whatever the wish was, it had just handed her the tools.

The journal, and the ability to read it. The ability to truly _understand_ the boy she liked.

Jackie looked back at the scissors, which she could still read Marco's name on.

All she had to do was give it back to him. He was probably wondering where it was already-

No. If the classroom's reaction to Janna was anything to go by, Marco probably wouldn't even think about his journal until after she'd read it and returned it.

But she wasn't _going_ to read it.

Right?

Jackie pulled at her hair a little.

This was a once in a lifetime chance, handed to her through a wishing temple. Could she really turn that down?

Jackie sighed and sat down at her desk. She would only read a few entries, and then she would return it.

She opened the book in front of her and stared down at the first page.

Okay, here went nothing!

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hope you guys liked this chapter! It ended up so much longer than we'd originally planned, and it simultaneously cut out an entire arc we were thinking of doing what would have just been super filler-y and kinda useless, so this chapter is a win-win on our side.

That said, we'll be getting back to Star and Moon and Mewni eventually, we swear.

On another note, starting today, there's an event for our webcomic, at SuicideNoun dot com, where we're updating every day this week. If you haven't read it, now's a great time to start, because things are gonna get intense!

As always, thank you for reading!


	34. Chapter 34: Justice

Marco's stomach dropped at his father's words. "The... police wanted to see me specifically?"

"Uh… yes. They didn't say about what, though. Um, should I tell them that you aren't here?" his dad asked, unsure of the whole situation.

"And what good would that do, Rafael?" his mom said, throwing her hands up in frustration. "I had a feeling that whole thing with Dr. Singer would come back to bite us eventually. What if they try to take Marco away?"

Marco took a deep breath. He'd dealt with authorities before, but he doubted his usual methods would work in this situation. It wasn't like he could stage his death or anything. They actually had ways of making sure. Science and all that. But, worst came to worst, he could easily escape from them if they really did take him away from his parents. What would happen afterwards was anyone's guess.

Finally, Marco said, "I'll go talk to them," with all the confidence he didn't have. "You two can, uh, keep the nachos warm for when I'm done."

His parents looked at each other in worry, but eventually nodded in agreement.

 **"** **So... just to make sure. You two wouldn't be against having to relocate from Earth if it came to that, right?"** Kar asked.

"What?" Marco's mom said, eyes wide.

"Kar!" Marco stared daggers at his arm. _'Seriously, that's the last thing she needs to hear right now!'_

Kar answered Marco's stare with with an irritated grunt. **"Listen,** ** _Diaz,_** **I'm not going to sugar coat this. You fucked up. Big time. You underestimated the people of this world and thought you could just whip me out and use magic whenever you wanted without bringing attention to yourself."**

"Kar, we don't even know what this is about," Marco retorted.

 **"** **Does it really matter at this point? You got caught somehow, and now your family's livelihood is at stake. I should've just stayed in your fucking arm, at least then maybe all the stupid shit you did in public wouldn't be as obvious."**

"You shouldn't feel bad for being out, Kar'Margoach," his mom said. "Like Marco said, this might not be about you."

 **"** **Are you kidding me?"** Kar said. **"That doctor guy was nearly foaming at the mouth when he saw me. And I'm pretty sure I was threatening his life. Not exactly a good look."**

Marco's dad stepped towards Kar. "But that was only because of you trying to protect our son. Think about it, was there anything you two did since you've been back here that you should feel ashamed of?"

"Not really. In fact, yesterday we helped a little kid get his lost cat back. I couldn't have done that without Kar, by the way." Marco smiled.

His parents let out perfectly in sync 'awww's while looking as proud as they could at the tentacle.

 **"** **It was a job on the Quest Board, Marco. The kid paid us to do it. We did it for the ice cream."**

"Oh shut the hell up," Marco said. "You would've done it regardless. You have the biggest soft spot for kids and you know it."

Kar was about to say his backup argument, but Marco's mom spoke up before he had a chance.

"Kar, listen, we know you and Marco want to bring magic to Earth. To be honest, despite what I said to Moon, we _were_ a little skeptical of the idea yesterday. We trust you, and we think it's a great idea in theory, but our own personal experience with magic has been _hectic,_ to say the least," she said. "We love Star, but her magic has a way of making things... really difficult for everyone."

 **"** **That's exactly what I'm trying to say, Angie. I'm been letting Marco do his thing, cause I'm a cool friend and all that, but I seriously think bringing magic to Earth is a bad idea. The potential chaos and-"**

His mom put her finger against his mouth to stop him. " _But_ , we then remembered that _you_ 're one of Star's spells. You assisted Marco in completing his quest, and you try to be so helpful around the house, and, well, if one spell can reunite a child with their missing cat, imagine how much better the world could be if even more spells like you were around."

Whatever Kar'd wanted to say apparently got caught in his throat.

"What you do in this dimension is your choice, Kar, but there's no right or wrong in who you are or what you look like. Your existence alone is not a crime," his dad said. "If the police really do have a problem with you being in this dimension, then we'll just have to find a home that _will_ accept you. It's the least we can do for what you did for Marco."

Kar was still for a moment, and then he took a deep, shuddering breath.

 **"** **Hmph. So that's where he fucking gets it,"** he said to himself.

Marco couldn't hold in the little bubbles of happiness at that statement. It took a second before his parents realized what he meant, but then they smiled wide at the two of them.

A loud, forceful knock on the front door dispersed everyone's good feelings, though, and brought them back to their current predicament.

"Alright, I'm going to go answer it," Marco said, before leaving the kitchen.

"Good luck, son," his father said.

Marco could certainly use a little luck right now...

 ** _'_** ** _It's too bad you gave away your scissors to Jackie. Could've been an easy getaway if things go south,'_** Kar thought.

Marco just hoped it wouldn't come to that. He simply strutted to the door, while at the same time occupying his head with the various scenarios he could be faced with and how he'd deal with each one. They were mostly unpleasant scenarios.

With a quick breath to ready himself, he opened the door.

Standing in front of him was a fit man in his twenties- no, probably thirties- with a stiff armor-like vest across his chest. He had two guns on his sides, what was probably an extendable baton on his hip, and a tactical knife on his leg. Everything was positioned in a convenient way that would cause problems for Marco if it ended in a full out brawl, but he would certainly do his best to keep that from happening.

"Um, hi," Marco said, finally looking up at the officer's face, which for some reason was focused to Marco's right-

Oh. Shit. _Right._ Kar! Damn it!

 **"** **Evening, Officer,"** Kar said, like it was the most natural conversation.

The policeman blinked a couple of times at that, then after composing himself said, "Um, hello. I'm Officer Brooks. I'm with the Echo Creek Police Department."

He greeted the two of them with a flash of his badge. An unnecessary formality, Marco thought, but it was clear that Brooks was a little nervous about this. Kar probably didn't help.

"I'm Marco Diaz," he said, "Even though you probably already knew that. Considering you're here for me..."

 **"** **And you can call me Kar,"** Kar added.

Brooks looked between Kar and Marco and then asked, "May my colleagues and I come in?"

Marco looked behind Brooks, where there were two other policemen tricked out in just as much gear. It was one man, and one woman. All three of them were in their late twenties or early thirties. "Uh, yeah, sure," he said. They weren't taking any chances, huh?

Marco stepped back and let the three officers in, warily watching them for any strange movements.

Brooks sat down on the living room couch, and gestured his two associates to stand by on each side of said couch.

Marco was able to get a better look at the two of them in the light. The woman had tan skin like Marco, and curly red hair. Like Brooks, she was acting pretty nervous. The other officer was portly man with short blonde hair. It was clear the fitness standards for the Echo Creek police were a little loose compared to, well, everywhere in Hekapoo's dimension. Still, even if the officer had the build of a farmer instead of a warrior, he still might be quick with that gun. Underestimating any of them was a bad call.

"Don't mind these two, they're just here to... observe," Brooks said.

 **"** **Bodyguards, you mean,"** Kar corrected.

Brooks raised an eyebrow at Kar and then chuckled. "Yeah. Fine. I'll be honest. They're bodyguards," he said. "And before you get any ideas, there're about ten men surrounding the house as well."

Damn. "Right, so no escape," Marco summarized.

"Exactly," Brooks said. "I'd also appreciate if you kept your hands- I mean, your hand and tentacle- where I can see them and make no sudden moves. Especially towards any pockets."

Ugh, was he under arrest or not? "Okay, I can agree to that." It ruled out secretive ritual-casting as an option. They got him good.

"What in God's name is that?" the female officer asked, pointing at the metal cage sitting in the corner, where the remaining pink hedgehogs had been locked in. They were all squeezed against each other to the point where their legs were sticking out between the bars.

"What in particular? The magic pink hedgehogs, or the implication of animal cruelty?" Marco asked. "Because to answer the latter, we tried treating them like real animals, but they don't eat or drink anything we give them. If you look at their eyes, they're always following me. I could be a hundred miles away and they'd still be looking in the general direction towards my location. To answer the former, they're just hedgehog-shaped spells created to wake me up whenever I pass out."

The officer raised her eyebrows, nodded warily, and went back to being a silent observer.

"So, what brings you to our humble abode?" Marco asked Brooks, trying to get back on track.

His parents slowly entered the room, though they kept their distance from Brooks and the other officers. They watched everyone in anticipation.

Marco took a seat on a lone wooden chair, staring Brooks in the eyes.

"First things first," Officer Brooks said, in a tone of authority. "The girl that's been living here. Where is she right now?"

"No longer here," Marco said, without any hesitation. "Her mom brought her back to their home dimension."

He could've easily lied to the policeman, but Marco specifically wanted the inhabitants of Earth to get used to magic and the idea that the universe was much vaster than they could imagine. Also, well, he wanted to see how shocked Brooks would look after telling him that so straight faced.

Marco didn't get that satisfaction, though. Instead Brooks simply nodded and said "Pretty convenient, I suppose."

 **"** **Well, that's literally what happened, so you can take it or leave it,"** Kar said, mildly annoyed.

Brooks sighed and took out a notepad from his pocket. He flipped through several pages, until stopping and saying, "We'll drop the subject for now. I have some things I wanted to go over with you in particular. Does the date September 15th, 2014 mean anything to you?"

Marco saw, from the corner of his eye, his mom's mouth make an 'oh' sound. So apparently that _was_ a very significant day, but he couldn't easily remember that far back. Assuming it wasn't a couple days ago. Marco had no idea what today was, actually, aside from it being Friday. "I don't remember that day. Why do you ask?"

"That day was a shitty one for me. I slept in, barely had time to grab some coffee before my shift, and then I was stuck doing patrols for one of the most uneventful areas of the city. I was bored, tired and cranky."

Marco wondered where this was going.

"Then, at quarter-after nine in the morning, I see something flying out of the high school. A _monster_ flying out of the district, with a screaming student in its grasp," Brooks said, not breaking his stone-face.

Marco's eyes widened ever so slightly.

"We chased the thing down for hours and got the student back, but the thing disintegrated into thin air before we could apprehend it. Thankfully, no one really got hurt, but it was all we were talking about for days. No one could believe it really happened."

His face got more serious.

"That is, until it happened again."

Brooks flipped to another page.

"October 3rd, 2014, another call from Echo Creek Academy. This time, some giant bird mother-fucker had snatched another student off the ground. This one was a lot more aggressive. I actually had to fire a few rounds into it before it let go of the student and tried to escape. Once again, it disappeared before we could catch it. Apparently, it wasn't just the bird. A whole zoo of these monsters had invaded a friday night football game - giant squirrels and tomcats and such. I can imagine those things disappeared as well before we got there. Does this day sound familiar?"

"I-I suppose." Marco shrugged. "But we're talking about an after school activity, right? I _might_ not have been there." He honestly wasn't sure. His teenage self didn't seem the social type for a football game, though it was clear as day that Star at least attended the game, and had put her own spin on things.

Brooks snorted at this response and smiled. It wasn't a pleasant smile. "Really!? Now _that_ is interesting!"

 **"** **And why's that?"** Kar asked.

Brooks leaned forward. "Cause that student who was kidnapped by the giant bird? That was you, kid." He briefly showed the page on his notepad. Marco couldn't comprehend anything that was written on it, except for the words 'Marco' and 'Diaz.'

Fuck.

"I wonder if you've been having any other lapses in memory," he said, with a sarcastic bite. He flipped to a new page. "November 17th, 2014. Another monster. A bug-chick with a nasty grudge against teenage boys. Every male in ECA is cocooned up in purple alien gunk, except for two. I bet you can't guess who one of them was."

Marco remembered that one. Him and Star's crush were the only two guys left. He swallowed uncomfortably. "Y-yeah. I was there for that."

Still not satisfied, Brooks continued reading off his notepad. "December 9th, giant lobster man destroys four city blocks. You and a blonde girl your age were sighted alongside it."

"Yeah…" Marco didn't remember that one, either, but he wasn't about to argue with this guy.

 **"** **Hey, is there anything about me in there? I was around for a few days at most. Didn't cause much outward destruction, but that's because I, unlike other spells, had a sense of subtlety,"** Kar said.

"Shut up," Brooks ordered the tentacle, paying him little mind. "January 4th, 2015. This household reports a kidnapping. Your kidnapping, to be exact. The one to give a statement on it wasn't your parents, but the foreign exchange student who was living with you at the time. Same girl you were sighted with. No one took the report seriously, because of the outlandish shit she spewed. Different dimensions, monsters, a magic wand. I think I was the only one who thought there was a layer of truth behind it."

Marco didn't say anything, though it was clear he was referring to the time Marco got kidnapped by Toffee.

"Then, we come back to give them an update, and they're all gone. Car's still there, lights are still on, phones left on the kitchen counter. We honest-to-god thought they got taken too," Brooks said. "And then a few hours later, they show back up in fucking _medieval armor_ and tell us to call off the search, and to have a nice day."

Marco snuck a look at his parents, who looked sheepishly guilty.

Brooks took his hat off and dragged his hand through his thinning hair. "I could go on, but I think you get the point. We've seen it all. We know every single crazy and weird incident that happened in Echo Creek over the last eight months or so. It all revolves around you and that girl, and we've come to accept that it's something out of our control. Magic is, and always was, real, after all."

Hold on. They _weren't_ here to tell him to stop?

"So then why are you here? You're right that Star was the source of all that, but she's not coming back to Earth ever again." Marco felt bad for saying that, but wording it that way would help assure them. "Trust me, your jobs will be a lot easier from here on out."

Brooks sighed. "Unfortunately, our jobs are a lot _harder_ now. Because as much as we can blame the trauma and structural damage of those events on leaking gas or weather balloons, we can't do that for a murder."

"What?" Marco said, his stomach dropping.

His parents gasped in unison.

 ** _'_** ** _Huh, so I guess you and your mom were right, this really wasn't about me,_** ' Kar thought. **_'I know it sucks that somebody died, but this is probably the best case scenario in terms of the police being here.'_**

 _'_ _And what is that supposed to mean?'_ Marco shot a dirty look at Kar. He frankly didn't care if he looked weird in front of Brooks or his friends here. They already bought into the idea of magic existing, so clearly explaining that they could telepathically communicate wouldn't even bat an eye.

 ** _'Hear me out, Marco. The guy said it himself. Weird magic shit happening around us is an inevitability. They're not here to 'stop' you. They're crawling to you for help. If someone really died due to something magical they can't understand, then you're their best bet to understanding it. Take advantage of this opportunity, oh Wise and Knowledge Spreading Mage.'_**

Huh, Marco didn't think of it that way. All the protection and weapons Brooks and co were holding perhaps gave him the wrong impression.

Maybe they just wanted help?

Star _was_ the source for a lot of magical mishaps in Echo Creek, but that didn't mean she was _the_ source. Technically speaking, Ludo and his monsters came to Earth of their own volition, and Moon seemed to imply that Earth may have been used as some hideout for interdimensional outlaws or something. A lot of Earth phenomenons could already be explained away by the intrusion of beings from other dimensions.

Marco looked up, and saw an impatient Brooks and his confused colleagues staring back at him.

"So, you need my help solving this case, right?" he asked with a grin.

"You're jumping the gun a bit there, kid," Brooks said, holding up his hand. "Yes, in a lot of ways, you're the only lead we have, due to your first-hand exposure to magic, but you're more involved in this than you think. Even more so than Star Butterfly."

"W-who was it? The person who was… murdered?" Marco's dad finally asked.

Brooks sighed. "Doctor Jonathan Singer."

"Oh my god…" Marco's mom whimpered, as he held onto her husband.

Marco nodded. That certainly changed things. There was no way this was a coincidence, but before jumping to conclusions again, they needed to know everything Brooks knew.

"Do you know what the cause of death was?" Marco asked.

"Excuse me?" Brooks glanced at Marco's parents and then back at him and Kar, possibly noting the sheer difference in reaction between the two pairs. Marco's folks were already in tears over the death of a man they barely knew, a man who even threatened their lives. He really did have the kindest people in the world as parents.

"Is it okay if I help my mom and dad to another room before we continue this?" Marco asked, getting out of his chair.

His dad shuddered. "Oh! Don't mind us, son. We'll excuse ourselves. We'll… make sure the nachos stay warm." He took his wife's hand and and escorted her away from the living room. Brook's team stared dumbly at them, not exactly giving them permission to leave, but not objecting to it either.

 **"** **Sorry about that, folks. Those two have had… an emotional week. Figures it'd take a guy kicking it to finally break them,"** Kar said.

"Does, erm, Marco here need a minute or two to process this as well?" Brooks asked Kar, as if somehow knowing the tentacle understood Marco's every thought.

 **"** **Nah, he's good. Please continue."**

"Are we really going through with this, Brooks?" the female officer said. "The situation has already gotten out of hand. If they tell anyone about this we-"

Brooks put hand up. "Everything is under control, Pierce. And it's a little too late to go back on this." He leaned over towards Marco. "Though I do find your reaction curious. Even the most try-hard badasses your age get a little shaken up when being told that someone they knew died, no matter how small the connection."

 **"** **Probably because he's an** ** _actual_** **badass about twice the age you think he is. Not to mention the fact that he's witnessed more death than you'll probably see in your entire career."** Kar huffed. **_'Condescending prick.'_**

On the brightside, Marco finally got that shocked expression from Brooks he was waiting for.

"I, uh, Kar, I didn't want to tell them _that much_ ," Marco said.

 **"** **I know, but the sooner they stop treating you like a little kid, the sooner we can get to the bottom of this."** Kar faced Brooks. **"And** ** _you_** **know there isn't a good reason to doubt us on this."**

Brooks scratched his head. "Well, I did talk to you a few months back, Marco, and you seem a lot different now since that interview. You've got a completely different aura to you, and a hell of a lot more confidence. So, screw it, I'll believe you for right now."

The two other officers made odd faces at that, and the one that wasn't Pierce said, "Mike, are you really going to just believe that?"

'Mike' Brooks eyed his colleague. "Did you see how they reacted to Dr. Singer's death? You can't just fake that. If people can teleport between dimensions, who's to say there can't be a-" He stopped and turned to Marco. "How old are you again?"

"Thirty," Marco said with an awkward cough.

"Who's to say there can't be a thirty-year-old walking around in a teenager's body?" Brooks said. "We can't say that magic is real but only the shit we've _seen!_ "

"Alright, I get it man, chill. Point fucking taken," the non-Pierce officer said. "Are we just gonna show him the video, then?"

"Video?" Marco said. Now, _that_ was interesting.

Brooks glared at Not-Pierce and then turned back to Marco with a sigh. "Yes. We caught the murder on camera."

 **"** **Nice. Can we see it?"** Kar asked for the both of them.

Brooks looked Marco up and down. He'd said he'd believed in Marco's apparent age, but maybe showing him an actual murder was crossing a line.

"I promise I can handle it," Marco said. "I've been covered in a person's blood as they took their last breath. This is just a video."

Pierce swallowed uncomfortably, and Brooks stared at Marco, like he was trying to find any hint that the teenager in front of him was lying.

Finally, Brooks said, "Okay. Get over here." He pulled what looked like a large, flat phone out from behind his armored vest. .

Marco instantly walked behind the couch, trying to get a better look at the device. Pierce nervously stepped aside so that Marco and Kar could stand right over Brooks' shoulders.

"Oh, right. I'll make sure not to do any of those subtle movements or anything," Marco said.

"Um, thank you?" Brooks said.

The device was almost the length of a forearm and about two-thirds the height. It was thin and sleek, if a little scratched at the edges, and had a black screen that covered the whole front.

 **"** **Comprehending a video being played may be a little tricky for me, Marco. So I'm counting on your brain to process every little detail. Got it?"** Kar ordered.

Ignoring his comment to Marco, Brooks tapped a few things on his phone-computer-combo and then put it sideways so that everyone could see it.

He hit a triangle button and the static picture of two people in a room came to life. Marco had forgotten how fucking cool technology was, able to capture a moment like this and have it readily available for so many people to relive it.

 ** _'_** ** _God I wish I had eyes…'_**

The video was silent, of two people talking in a hospital room. The taller figure was obviously Singer, and upon closer inspection, Marco noticed Rachel the nurse, who was facing the camera. Nothing unusual so far...

Singer walked over to a wall and started writing on it. There was an uneasy feeling in Marco's stomach, watching this scene progress in front of him, coming from the phone of a policeman investigating a murder. Logically speaking, Singer would be attacked at any moment, and it bothered him that it might end up being Rachel.

 ** _'_** ** _When has magic ever followed logic, though?'_**

Rachel joined in writing on the wall, and even though Marco couldn't hear them or read the writing, he had a good idea that they were trying to figure out something big. It was hammered in when Singer drew a picture of a planet and then wrote something above it.

Marco almost wanted to ask Brooks what the wall said, but didn't want to interrupt the video.

Singer and Rachel seemed to get more and more excited as the conversation went on, culminating with some sort of epiphany in Singer, which he only began saying before a portal opened up beneath him and he fell through.

Then, in the same second, he fell in through the ceiling, through another portal. As he hit the ground, Marco noted the way his head was twisted too far around.

Rachel ran up to him to check his vitals, but Marco could already tell from afar that Singer was dead. He watched as she helplessly discovered the lack of heartbeat or breath, and then she screamed silently, before running out into the halls, and out of the camera's vision.

Marco stared at the screen, even as the image stopped moving and everything went dark.

Brooks slowly lowered the device and put it back into his vest pocket.

"Someone killed him with dimensional scissors," Marco said.

"Yeah. We figured that much out," Brooks said, keeping an eye on Marco, possibly still making sure he was okay after seeing a death on video. "I'll even save you the trouble of explaining them. We already know that portals like that exist. We know that you go in one and come out the other, and that they can lead to a whole slew of crazy-ass worlds. We _also_ know that they come from magic scissors."

Wow, they knew a lot.

 ** _'_** ** _Still, who could've done that?'_**

Marco had no idea, nor did he know why they had done it to Singer.

"What were they talking about?" he thought out loud.

"They were talking about you. You and the tentacle. The drawings on the walls were their theories about how this craziness came to be," Brooks said.

Marco wasn't expecting such a direct answer to that, considering how the entire video was silent, but that probably meant that Rachel was still alive. So, Singer told her about Kar?

 ** _'_** ** _And after I threatened his life, no less.'_**

"Where is Rachel?" Marco asked.

"She's currently in our custody. Been there since yesterday when this all broke down. Right after he was killed, she went into a panic. The patients and other hospital staff did their best to calm her down, but once they realized this was because of a dead body in the room, security held on to her until we arrived."

 **"** **But it's clear as day she's not responsible for this,"** Kar said. **"You have proof of that right here. Why are you holding the poor girl against her will?"**

The three officers gave worried looks at each other, before Brooks responded. "That's exactly why this situation is so fucked up. Despite video evidence saying otherwise, no one wants to believe it, especially the higher ups. They all think this was premeditated, and that Ms. Simmons somehow hacked into the cameras and put her own edited footage into them."

"Wait, _could_ she even do that?" Marco asked, really feeling the weight of how much he'd forgotten about the limits of Earth technology.

"Probably not, but it's a lot easier to believe than magic portals," Brooks said.

 **"** **You've been obsessively keeping records of every single magical incident Star and Marco got themselves involved with. You people have literally been facing off against her collateral damage. Why isn't anyone buying into a couple of portals?"**

Marco had to agree with Kar. This didn't make any sense. If the Echo Creek police were already aware of Star's magic, then they could easily believe that it was involved in Singer's murder, and not just assume Rachel is some tech-savvy super hacker. How could they simultaneously accept magic's existence while outright rejecting its relevance for this one case? And they were here right now asking Marco for help! It was one big contradiction.

Brooks glared at the tentacle. "My 'obsession' with magic is more of a hobby than anything else. The rest of the force still buys into any other plausible explanation for those incidents. Everything from drunk cosplayers to 'Balloon Boy' copycats. It's no different from when Marco was kidnapped earlier this year."

So, Moon had been right all along. Humans would find any excuse to not believe in magic. They did it with Star and they even did for a murder!

"In fact, the only people on the force that have come to accept magic as a real concept are the three of us in this room."

Marco looked at the other two officers.

Pierce shrugged and then held out her hand for Marco to shake. "Officer Pierce. We met already. You guys destroyed my car by hitting a taco sign with a rainbow."

That sounded oddly specific. Marco shook her hand carefully. "Oh, sorry about that."

"It's okay. Kind of woke me up to the whole magic thing, so I guess I should be thanking you?" she waved her hand unconfidently.

"Uh…then you're welcome?" Marco tried. "And you?" He asked, turning to the other officer.

"Call me Newberry. There was a monster she conjured that chased me for miles," he said. "Turns out it just wanted the chocolate bar in my pocket. Ripped the thing right out of my pants and then scurried away."

"Wow." Marco didn't remember that one, either.

 **"** **So… the ten guys outside..."** Kar said.

"Yeah… that." Brooks scratched the back of his head. "We made it all up. We couldn't afford you thinking you could run away from this so easily. That's why we're armed from head to toe."

"Are you serious?" Marco asked.

"Now's probably a good time to also mention that the three of us are doing this off-duty. We're technically not even supposed to be in these uniforms, let alone borrow a squad car," Newberry said. "So please don't tell anyone about this, or we can kiss our jobs goodbye."

Marco frowned. "If your jobs are on the line, then why did you go through with all of this?"

"Because we want to get to the bottom of it," Brooks said. "If we don't stop this asshole soon, there could be more bodies. It was fine when it was just you two causing trouble, but at this point we can't still pretend everything's fine."

"That and... the last guy to say magic is real was put on mandatory leave," Pierce said. "So we can't solve it the normal way. We'd be risking our jobs and we'd probably be pulled before we could get any information anyway."

So it was out of desperation that they were turning to Marco. It was all falling together in his head. That could also explain why they had approached him and his family during the night time, instead of in daylight where the neighbors could see. Marco wasn't dealing with the system, he was working with the rebels.

That was fine, though. It kind of felt like old times. He felt a huge weight come off his shoulders, actually. Now it felt less like the wrong words would lead to his arrest and it was a lot more like they were solving a mystery together.

And they were taking it seriously, too. Not only were these people sincere in wanting to stop this murderer, they were also doing it carefully. All the more reason to help them.

"But," Marco began, "what about Rachel? If we don't solve this will she be the scapegoat?"

"Well, odds are they won't find enough evidence to convict her," Brooks said. "But she was the only other person in the room. If they don't find the real killer, she might not go to jail, but the public will think she did it, and that label will basically ruin her life."

Yeah, Marco had been there. "Have you talked to her yet?"

"For a little bit, yesterday. No one was able to get her to talk about what transpired in that room. I saw the surveillance footage, so on a whim I showed her my notepad. As soon as she saw your name on there, I couldn't get her to shut up." Brooks smiled. "I have to be honest, it felt nice being able to openly talk about how fucking weird you and that girl are with another person without the fear of being judged."

Pierce and Newberry looked mildly offended.

 **"** **What did you talk about?"** Kar asked.

"You, that girl, other dimensions, and magic. She told me how when you were admitted to the hospital, Singer was apparently ecstatic at the possibility of discovering a new sickness within your right arm. Then, it turned out to be a giant-purple-tentacle-demon-thing instead and both of them had to come to terms with magic being a real thing," Brooks said.

 **"** **Hey, the purple-tentacle-thing has a name,"** Kar said.

Ignoring him, Brooks continued. "They went into the hospital room, which had apparently been magically soundproofed, and discussed it in depth. What everything meant, where it was all coming from. It was only as Singer was in the middle of saying that your friend was from another dimension that he got taken by the portals. Or, at least, that's what Rachel thought he was about to say, but that seemed to be confirmed by your comment earlier."

A million possibilities swam through Marcos head at once, but he tried to remain focused and listen to Brooks.

"Then he popped out of the ceiling and landed on the floor. It wasn't until they were dragging his body away that she realized he'd sent her a text. A text he had apparently typed and sent out mid-air as he fell through the portals, as hard as that is to believe."

 **"** **He sent her a dying message? What did it say?"**

"' _Find Marco and tell him to run'_ ," Newberry said, coldly.

"Oh," Marco said. So, this whole thing wasn't just the police needing the help of a magical expert. It was also their attempt at protecting Marco and his family.

"Are you okay?" Pierce asked.

Marco had to give Brooks credit, he was being very careful about the order of information he was feeding him. Had he opened up with Singer's message, he may have seriously tried to do run away, and get as far from Echo Creek as possible, if only to keep his parents out of the potential crossfire.

Knowing he had these three as allies though...

"Yeah," Marco said. "If they're after me, then we might be able to use that to our advantage. We could bait them out."

A million names and faces flashed through Marco's head. Anyone he could have upset badly enough to come after him, and to kill an innocent bystander along the way. Oh, and they had to be alive.

Assuming that they somehow left Heckapoo's Dimension not long after Marco and before they died of old age, it was quite a list.

 **"** **Not to mention the fact that at any point after you left, it could have harbored into a family grudge, and their descendants could be the ones after you,"** Kar added.

Yeah, that made it even more complicated.

"Do you have any idea who would come after you like that?" Brooks asked.

"I have a few ideas, but nothing concrete," Marco said.

"That's fine. Hopefully this will clear some of it up," Brooks said, pulling out his not-phone again.

 **"** **Hey. What are you doing with that?"** Kar asked, warily. Marco didn't remember what the device even was, let alone what it was capable of, so the possibilities _were_ almost endless.

"We caught the culprit on camera as well," Brooks said.

What? How?

 **"** **Well why the fuck didn't you lead with that?"**

"I wanted to make sure Marco wasn't involved in the actual murder first," Brooks said. "And that he could handle this shit."

Brooks showed them the device and there was a new video on the screen.

"We were scouring through all the hospital footage of the last two days, both inside and outside room 406," Brooks said. "We saw all the stupid magic bullshit you kids did in there, but also, a few hours after you left your hospital room, _this_ happened."

He held up the phone and hit play, and it showed the same angle of footage from the last video. This time, the room was empty, and it stayed that way for a moment, until a portal opened up in the middle of the room.

A mechanical foot stepped through, followed by the rest of the being's body, half robotic and half organic, with pointed ears and long black hair flowing behind her. She wore practical plate armor, and she appeared to be amputated at base of all her limbs, with plants and machinery taking their place.

She walked through the room, seemingly examining every inch, most likely looking for something. She eventually stopped looking, though it wasn't obvious if she had found what she was looking for or not, and then walked towards the back of the room.

She reached her mechanical hand out and a vine started growing from within the machinations. From the vine grew a stem, and then from the stem grew a yellow lily. She ripped the base of the stem and then placed it on the ground.

Then, with a final look around, she stepped back into her portal and the room was empty once again.

"Suffice to say, everyone's convinced this footage is just more editing on Rachel's part." Brooks pulled the device away and tapped at it a couple times. "So, what are your thoughts? You know this chick?"

"No," Marco said with certainty, still going over the footage in his head. "And I don't remember pissing off any elves, either."

"Have you _met_ any elves?" Brooks asked, a curious eyebrow raised.

 **"** **Oh yeah, plenty,"** Kar said. **"They're a mostly reclusive people who live in the woods. They love their plants and dirt and hate society and technology. They're basically hippies without the pacifism."**

"Yeah, well, this one seems to like her technology," Newberry said.

"Maybe we could use this, though," Brooks said. "Do you think any of your elf-acquaintances could know who she is?"

"Nope," Marco said. "They're all dead by now."

Everyone stared at Marco and he just sighed.

"I met them in a dimension where time moves a lot faster than in ours," Marco explained. "It's been hundreds of years from their perspective. They're definitely gone by now."

 **"** **Actually, it's been sixteen thousand four hundred years, give or take,"** Kar said, **"if we're talking decimal system."**

Everyone stared a Kar. Wow. That was actually a lot longer than Marco thought.

 **"** **What? I'm good at math."**

"Well, then that solves our question about the technology," Pierce said.

"What do you mean?" Marco asked.

"If it's been that long, then I'm sure customs would change and eventually elves would have to adapt crazy sci-fi tech like that into their way of living, along with everyone else from that dimension, right?"

That was a pretty good point, but...

 **"** **Not possible. The people in that dimension could never get to sci-fi level technology,"** Kar said. **"There's a crazy higher being that comes by every time things get too civilized and wipes the place clean. It's been holding them back for eons."**

That was… _one_ way to put it.

"Oh," Pierce said.

Kar was right. Maybe Heckapoo's dimension had nothing to do with this. Maybe it was from something he did _before_ the quest?

 **"** **That's not to say a time-dilated dimension has nothing to do with this, though,"** Kar said. **"Our elf chick used it to kill Singer."**

"What?" Brooks said.

 **"** **You said that Singer sent Rachel a text sometime after he fell in through the portal but before he hit the ground, right?"**

Brooks leaned forward in intrigue. "That's right. We're trying to figure out how he was able to do that in such a small window of time."

 **"** **So, what if those two portals never connected to each other to begin with?"**

"Ah," Marco said. Kar was suggesting that Singer passed through Heckapoo's Dimension, or at least another dimension that worked in a similar way.

Pierce seemed to catch on, too. "Are you saying there was a time-dilated dimension that he passed through?"

 **"** **Exactly. He could've been in there for** ** _days_** **,"** Kar said.

"Plenty of time to get his neck snapped and send a text," Marco said. "Uh, not in that order, obviously."

Brooks was vigorously writing into his notepad. "I think I'm piecing it together now. Marco, did you spend years in this dimension? Was that how you became an adult in a kid's body? Seems to be the only way you could be an adult with actual years of experiences under your belt, while still looking like that."

Holy shit. He was right on the money. "Uh, yes, actually."

Brooks smiled devilishly and the other two officers stared at him. "So, then, simple math puts you at somewhere between fourteen and nineteen years there?"

"Sixteen," Marco answered automatically.

 **"** ** _Ahem_** **, Eighteen years,"** Kar corrected.

Eighteen? What was he-

Oh. Marco had been just telling people sixteen years without realizing it wasn't the decimal conversion.

 ** _'_** ** _Yeah, I kinda realized it in Skullnick's class today.'_**

Newberry frowned. "Why do you two have different answers?"

"I had a different numbering system in that dimension, and it's hard to stop myself from using it," Marco admitted. "Kar's reaccustomed to Earth's numbering system already."

"Oh," Newberry said. "That sounds stupid and complicated."

Marco shrugged. "What isn't these days?"

 **"** **Moving on."** Kar faced Brooks again.

"Right," Brooks said. "How many hours had passed in Earth time when you eventually returned?"

"Eight minutes," Marco said.

More writing. "I see. So, if Singer was only gone a second-"

"Closer to a fraction of a second, Sir," Pierce said.

 **"** **It still could have been days. Don't worry. I already did the math in my head."**

"Then any number of things could have happened," Brooks said.

"I don't think he was gone that long, though," Marco said.

"What makes you say that?"

"His clothes. A white coat like that is bound to get dirty really quick."

Brooks nodded understandingly. "They were still perfectly clean, so it's safe to assume he was only gone for a little bit."

 **"** **Less than a day, for sure."**

"Wait a second," Newberry said. "I just want to clear something up really quick."

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Marco, you went to this crazy time-dimension and then came back as a kid, right?"

"Yeah."

"So was anything else different? Did it put your clothes back the way they were, too?"

Oh, yeah, that could throw a wrench in their idea if it'd been true.

"Well, when I came back, I was wearing the clothes I'd been wearing as an adult, but they shrank to my size as a kid, too. They still had all the rips, tears, and dirt on them." Now that he thought about it… "And most of the wounds I'd had and organs I was missing healed as I stepped through. Everything except a burn on the back of my head, which was _just_ inflicted on me before I stepped through."

He got a look for the "missing organs" part, but they continued like he hadn't said it.

"So then maybe transitioning back to our time flow heals everything but fresh wounds," Pierce said.

"Which would mean that Singer was killed right before he came back through," Brooks said.

It made sense. Singer's neck was still twisted when he hit the ground.

But that meant he had time.

 ** _'_** ** _No. We'd be helpless for hours, dude. If this chick is after us, we should leave that as a backup plan.'_**

Yeah, Kar was right. They'd save the Seance Ritual as a last-ditch effort for answers.

Which meant it was time to come up with the main plan…

"Whatever happened to that flower?" Marco asked. "The one the elf put into the hospital room."

There was a moment where everyone adjusted to the change of subject, and then Brooks said, "It disappeared. In the confusion right after Singer died, the bitch opened a portal right underneath it, and it popped through. Caught that on camera too."

"By the time we arrived it was gone," Newberry said.

Shit. "It was a surveillance system. Elves use flowers to communicate with each other pretty often, actually. She was listening in on their conversation." It could've even been used to track her down, but that was a moot point now.

"Damn," Brooks said.

"Almost like a cell phone being left alone on speaker," Newberry said.

"That could've been useful. It was our best lead. Waiting for this lady to attack me is less than ideal. She'll be doing it on her own terms with dimensional scissors. We need to get her before she strikes again."

"I just realized," Pierce began. "With those scissors, catching her would be nearly impossible. Even if we set up some sort of 24-hour protection system for the Diaz's, she could open one of those portals right next to him and slit his throat open."

Ugh, Marco rubbed his neck.

"And even if we shot at her, she could just recover in that time-dilated dimension and then come back," Newberry said.

"Plus, even if she gets caught and we confiscate the scissors, she may have friends to bail her out," Pierce added.

"There has to be a way to stop those scissors from working," Brooks said, turning to Marco.

Actually, everyone was staring at Marco like he had all the answers.

Right. He was the resident magic expert, after all.

And yet, he couldn't think of anything.

 **"** **There's definitely a way to stop them,"** Kar said with confidence.

"What makes you say that?" Marco said.

 **"** **Moon said that counterfeit scissors were easy to get ahold of,"** Kar said. **"So, if they're really everywhere, someone must have come up with a way to render them useless, right?"**

Marco raised an eyebrow at Kar.

 **"** **I mean, if not, I feel like Mewni would've been taken over by someone new just portalling in and assassinating the queen, like, every other week."**

That actually made a lot of sense.

"Is Mewni the dimension with the elves?" Newberry asked.

"Well, there _might_ be elves there." Marco shrugged.

"No, wait," Brooks said, holding up a finger and then immediately flipping through his notebook in concentration. "I recognize the name."

He stopped on a page and his face lit up in recognition.

"Mewni is the dimension the blonde girl's from. She mentioned it when Marco got kidnapped."

"Oh," Newberry said.

 ** _'_** ** _Looks like you've got a stalker, Marco,'_** Kar thought.

Marco coughed awkwardly. "Uh, yeah. And it might be the dimension with the answer on how to contain our elf."

 **"** **You could always ask Heckapoo."**

"No. I wouldn't know where to find her, and I don't want to see her anyway," Marco said.

"So, then, who would know what's stopping the queen from being assassinated every week?" Pierce asked. "Are there any people you know within the castle? Maybe a guard or servant?"

Marco groaned. "The queen." He would have to ask Moon about this. Moon was exactly the kind of person who would know everything about it, too.

Pierce and Newberry raised their eyebrows.

"Makes sense," Brooks said. "Blondie's the princess, right?"

Marco looked over at him.

"She mentioned it when you got kidnapped," he said.

"So then, why don't you contact _her_?" Newberry asked.

"Honestly?" Marco said. "Because she wouldn't have the information I need." And also because if he contacted Star first, Moon would probably murder him before the elf even got a chance.

"Either way, you can get our containment in gear," Brooks said. "Now we just have to find the elf."

Marco nodded. He would have to talk to Moon, but he could do this. He took a deep breath. The easiest way to do that would've been with the flower, but they didn't have that luxury.

 ** _'_** ** _So then, time for the backup plan?'_**

Yeah, it was. "Can you get me a piece of Singer's body?" Marco asked them.

Without a second's hesitation, Pierce said, "Yes. I can get it for you by tomorrow morning. Will that be okay?"

The other two officers looked at her with curious eyes.

Marco did the math in his head. Assuming the death was yesterday, he still had 2 more days before the plan was moot. "Yeah, tomorrow morning is perfect."

The officers would probably arrive around the same time as Jackie would with his scissors, so it could all match up so that he could go contact Moon, get the anti-scissor magic, and then perform the seance ritual once they got everything set up.

Hopefully all the timing panned out.

"So, are you gonna talk to Singer?" Brooks said, a sly smirk and a bit of a twinkle in his eye.

Marco blinked. "What?" How could he know?

Brooks smiled. "You've gotta get a piece of his body so you can magically talk to his ghost or something, right?"

"You're correct," Marco said.

"Does it need to be anything specific?" Pierce asked.

"It needs flesh on it," Marco said. "So not just hair or bones. A finger's probably the best bet."

Pierce nodded. "Got it. Consider it done."

"Awesome," Newberry said, obviously trying his hardest not to ask Pierce how she could get ahold of a body that easily. "Now we just have to figure out protection until then."

"Your family can stay at Newberry's house for the night," Brooks said.

"What?" Newberry said, indignified. "Why mine?"

"Because you have a bigger house than either of us, and you live alone," Pierce said with a shrug.

Newberry looked mortified, but then sighed and said, "Okay, fine. I can grab the blow-up mattresses."

"That's not necessary," Marco said. "It doesn't matter where we are if she has dimensional scissors."

"It does if she knows where you are," Pierce said. "If you switch locations, she may just assume you went running."

"I'd rather have the home advantage," Marco said. "And I have a temporary solution to keep myself and my parents safe till the morning."

Brooks nodded, seeming to take that at face value. "Okay."

 **"** **So then the last thing we have to figure out is what we're doing with her once we catch her,"** Kar said.

Everyone turned to him, confused.

 **"** **Like, are we going all vigilante justice on her, or-"**

"We're going to put her before a trial and make her pay for her crimes legally," Brooks said.

"And finally prove to everyone that we're not fucking crazy," Newberry said.

"That magic is real," Pierce corrected.

Marco couldn't agree more. This would be better for everyone. If there was an actual elf in Earth's custody, it would bring magic to the eyes of society much faster than his original plan of letting it slowly build from a few select people, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Marco was starting to get giddy just thinking about it.

 ** _'_** ** _Is that an ulterior motive I hear?'_** Kar thought.

 _'_ _I'm doing this to clear Rachel's name and avenge Singer first and foremost,'_ Marco thought back. _'But… yes, I'm also really excited about exposing magic to the mass populace._

But... if an elf was in custody and she knew magic, they'd have to make damn sure they could defend against that.

"Hey," Marco said, a little awkwardly. "Do you guys want to learn how to do magic?"

Everyone stared at Marco in bewilderment once again.

Then, with a little _too_ much excitement, Brooks said, "Yes!"

"We can _learn_ magic?" Pierce asked.

Marco nodded. "What better way to help prove magic is real than to know how to use it?"

"It would be a good back up plan for if our elf escapes to another dimension indefinitely," Newberry said.

"Not to mention the fact that it might help us catch her to begin with," Pierce added.

"Yes," Brooks said again, at the edge of his seat in giddiness.

Pierce let out a snort at Brooks and then said, "I'm down, too."

Newberry shrugged and said, "Count me in. Might as well, right?"

Marco nodded, a huge smile across his face. "Hell yes. Once I talk to Singer, we'll play it by ear. You might not actually learn anything until after we've caught our murderer."

"Sounds good to me," Pierce said. "I'd imagine most murder cases would be chump change the second any of us could talk to ghosts like you do. Actually, now that I think about it, this could have a big impact on trails. Imagine a victim's finger on the witness stand."

"Well... I might keep _that_ particular spell to myself," Marco said. "Don't get me wrong, I also see the positives, but it's part of a specific subset of magic the world is better off not knowing." His ritual magic was dangerous already, but Marco also thought that teaching it to humans would disappoint Jackie and Star, so he wouldn't.

Newberry eyed him for a second and then shrugged. "Well, you're the expert, I guess."

"You're just going to take it as it is?" Pierce asked him.

"Listen," Newberry said. "I'd rather not introduce a new nuke to the world."

"The fact that we can learn _any_ magic is a miracle, honestly," Brooks added. "Beggars can't be choosers."

Pierce sighed. "Yeah, okay. Fine."

"Alright, so the plan is," Marco said. "You get Singer's finger and meet me with it in the morning. I'll go to Mewni after you give me it, and I'll figure out the containment. Then, either before I come back or after, depending on which is safer, I talk to Singer and we see if he has any clues about our elf. Then, we'll either go after her or I'll teach you some magic while we wait for her to act again."

"Got it," Pierce said.

Brooks got up from the couch. "Then I suppose it's time for us to go."

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Marco," Newberry said, holding his hand out.

Marco shook it. "Yeah, you too."

"And you, Kar," he added.

 **"** **The pleasure was all mine."** Kar wrapped his tip around Newberry's hand.

They all shook hands and tentacles and said goodbyes, and then they left through the door, looking just as professional as when they first entered.

 **"** **Well, that was an experience,"** Kar said once they were alone.

"Yeah," Marco said distantly. He was finally beginning to process how fast this was all going. To go from improvised magic lessons in a high school cafeteria to joining forces with the police force to expose magic. All within the same day…

 **"You have the luck of the devil, kid. I always thought that, but today basically confirmed it."**

Lucky? Marco doubted that. Would anyone with any amount of luck that wasn't zero end up in Scissors Quest to begin with? An informal, unplanned quest upstarted by a crazy sorceress' morbid curiosity.

 **"Um…the fact that you** ** _survived_** **said quest with no prior training or prep is nothing short of a miracle. You brush with death countless of times but somehow always came out on top. And then when you end up back on Earth, seemingly unable to provide anything productive to this advanced society, an opportunity to change it to suit** ** _your_** **needs is placed right on your lap. Like I said, you're lucky."**

That was a good argument, actually. 'Lucky' wasn't exactly the same as 'easy' when it came to Marco's life. But shouldn't he be saying how _they're_ really lucky?

"Kar, you told my mom that you didn't think bringing magic to Earth was a good idea. Do you really think that?"

Kar sighed. **"Look, I don't want to make this a big thing between us. Let's just agree there's a lot of nuance to it. Magic can be a great thing for Earth, or it could terrible thing. Mirria and Ennio showed us a lot of the bad magic can do."**

Kar was right, as much as Marco wanted to to ignore it. There _was_ a lot of bad that could come from it. Marco could try to contain what people were learning, but sooner or later, more dangerous magic would be bound to show up. "What if this _is_ a mistake? What if I'm just being selfish? What if I even don't have Earth's best interest in mind, and I want to make it more like Hekapoo's Dimension so I don't have to… reduce myself to a normal person?"

 **"Oh yeah, I definitely recall you thinking that in your head. Can't believe I missed it."**

"Or, fuck, what if this is somehow Heckapoo's plan? We befriended a lot of her clones. Showed them that the lives in that dimension had value. She must have realized through them that ruling over an entire dimension is messed up, and wanted to correct that. You ever notice how we didn't even have to fight her? She just… stood there and let me blow out her flame. At that point she _wanted_ me to return to Earth! She _wanted_ me to liberate Earth from the High Commission!"

 **"God you're stupid."**

Honestly, just the tone of exasperation Kar had calmed Marco down a little.

 **"** **It doesn't matter whether Heckapoo wants you to do this shit or not. Fuck her. She doesn't matter anymore. Your life has never been some grand plan laid out by anyone but your own choices,"** Kar said. **"You've always had a knack for finding the best reasons to delegitimize yourself, but every single grand thing you did was because you** ** _chose_** **to do it."**

Okay. Maybe he was just trying to trick himself into getting cold feet.

 **"** **More specifically, the grandest shit you do is when you chose to do it, and you stick with it till the end,"** Kar said, nudging Marco.

Marco laughed. "Yeah, okay. I'm convinced."

Kar smiled. **"Good. Your boring when you're wishy-washy."**

"You did make a good point though. Even if my heart is in the right place, magic could be bad for Earth." It had already taken a man's life, in a roundabout way.

 **"** **So Instead of arguing over whether it's inherently bad or good, let's just try to make the best of it. Whenever you're head is stuck in the clouds** ** _or_** **your ass I'll ground you to reality. That's how we always did things before."**

Marco wouldn't have it any other way.

"I guess everything is all wrapped up for tonight?"

It was Marco's dad, who was still wearing his cooking apron for some reason.

"Uh, yeah," Marco said. He briefly looked out the window and saw that Brooks' car was indeed gone.

His dad put his hand on Marco's shoulder reassuringly. "Good. Let's go eat."

 **"** **Hell yes. I can't wait to try nachos with cheese made from** ** _cow_** **milk."**

They all walked back to the kitchen, and the giant plate of nachos sat in the middle of the table, surrounded by… a bunch of other foods.

They didn't just keep the food warm. His parents had cooked while they waited for him to finish up with the police.

Marco smiled. That was so like them.

His mom smiled over at him from the sink, where she was washing one of the pans they'd used, and said, "Hi, boys. Did everything go well?"

"You could say that," Marco said. It had ended on a hopeful note, at the very least.

"Good," she said, turning the sink off and wiping her hands dry on a small towel. "Then let's finally have some dinner."

They all sat at the dinner table, which had a miniature feast surrounding the nachos. Marco didn't remember the names of half the dishes, but it was easy to identify the rice and beans, which now had their own plates and a bunch of other stuff mixed in with them.

The food was delicious, but everything that was going on ruined his appetite a little. It was better to catch his parents up on it all now, rather than later.

He had to tell them that it was a deadly elf who had killed Singer. She was after Marco and would most likely kill anyone who got in the way of her path. He had to tell them that lives were going to be in constant danger for the foreseeable future because Marco somehow dragged his problems back with him to Earth.

Marco knew his parents were trying to act strong, but if he was going to adequately protect his family, then they needed to know everything.

Marco took a deep breath. "Um, hey, Mom, Dad?"

His mother took a big glob of nachos and put it on the plate in front of Marco. With a heartwarming smile, she said, "Honey, it's okay. We'll be fine. Just eat your nachos."

Kar swallowed his food uncomfortably, then turned to Marco expectantly.

Marco put his fork down. "This is _really_ important, though. I need to tell you what officer Brooks and I discussed."

Now his father began looking between his son and wife in worry.

"I know. We will talk about it, but for fifteen more minutes, let's forget about all that and enjoy our dinner together. You haven't done that in well over a decade," she said.

In almost two decades, Marco thought to himself.

"Don't worry about anything else right now. Your father and I believe in you. So please eat with us. You've earned it."

Marco looked back down at his plate, which had been stuffed with a little bit from all the foods across the table.

"You know what?" Marco said, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You're right." He _had_ earned it.

Besides, fifteen minutes wouldn't kill them.

So, with his mind cleared from their problems, Marco took a nacho and shoved it in his mouth.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** Hey guys! Been another two months since the last chapter. Again, apologies for the wait. A lot of changes have happened in our personal lives. We just bought our first house and are dealing with the everyday stresses of being homeowners. So, unfortunately, Habit is becoming a lower priority in our lives.

That's not to say we're done working on Habit, far from it! We just wanted to be transparent about why these damn chapters are taking so long to be made. Life gets in the way of a lot of people's creative endeavors, and we're no different. So thank you for understanding and sticking with us!

In regards to the Star vs.' finale, while we definitely consider it mediocre, we find it very interesting how Habit has become the antithesis of canon, both in how there is more gravity to Marco's quest, and how the story views magic as a tool/weapon. Not to say we're better than the Star vs. writers or anything! (Okay, our Monster Arm is probably a slightly more three-dimensional...)

Anyway, if you want more content to hold you over, one of our writer's has another Star vs. fic titled 'Squire of the Wash,' and the two of us work on a webcomic called Suicide Noun, which updates pretty consistently every Monday and Thursday at (content warning for depression, suicide, gore, and body horror). Check it out at SuicideNounDOTcom

Once again, thanks for reading!


	35. Chapter 35: The Difficulties of Teaching

_Inside a damp dungeon, below the Council of Guilds, the fate of an entire kingdom hung in the air._

 _Two men wrestled on the ground, while a lone woman bled slowly to death beside them. The first man, Marco Diaz, former Zonst guildmaster, struggled against the might of his opponent, the current Sentin guildmaster, Scarion._

 _When Marco broke out of his shackles, Scarion could've tried to use the Rewind Ritual to escape this timeline, but for whatever reason choose not to. Was it overconfidence? No, not Scarion. Perhaps he was thinking of the long term? Losing an eye was bothersome enough. What if his payment for the next trip back took something worse? Without a full grasp of the Ancient Tongue, he would be at the mercy of a Higher Being._

 _Eventually, years from then, Marco would reason it had to do with how long the Rewind Ritual took to cast, with a long incantation that lasted somewhere between thirty seconds and a few minutes, depending on how fast the caster could clearly recite it._

 _So, Scarion performed a different ritual._

 _This Fierceness Ritual only required a few hand gestures, and was much more suited for combat. It gave the user unrivaled strength and stamina._

 _Like all rituals, however, it came with a cost. As the ritual went on, you would begin to develop a lust for violence. The sound of blood spurting, the cracking of bones, and the begging screams for mercy would sooth your enraged conscious like a lullaby. Once you lost all constraint, you couldn't distinguish between friend or foe anymore, and would indiscriminately kill until you were the last one standing._

 _Though that hardly mattered to Scarion in this situation. The guards outside had given him the privacy he had requested, and the only other living beings here were his enemy, Marco, and his sister, Allion, who was already dead to him. No one would think anything suspicious of his justifiable self-defense. That is what Marco believed were his thoughts on the matter, anyhow._

 _"What corrupted beliefs did you plant inside my sister, Marco of Zonst? To make her go this far against me? To betray her own flesh and blood?" Scarion asked._

 _Marco could not answer. Two gauntlets had wrapped it's fingers securely around his neck. Scarion's grasp on him was so tight that not even a metal bar could pry them apart. Marco tried punching and kicking him away, but the man did not budge._

 _"_ _Allion…" Scarion spat, looking with disdain at the girl spasming on the floor. "I should have known you were too young to be trusted with the rituals. To think you would resort to using them as cheap parlor tricks, to impress a boy…"_

 _He was wrong. Allion always intended to keep the rituals a family secret, but during the Cleridic Invasion on Zonst five years ago, she had to use a ritual to save her and Marco's life. She didn't just break her promise for nothing._

 _Allion mumbled something unintelligible in response, and Scarion scoffed and turned his attention back to Marco._

 _"_ _Why do the rituals require hands? I think I'm beginning to understand why. It is hands which make us capable of using tools. We use those tools to create buildings, art, and entire civilizations. Our hands have allowed us to conquer nature and bend it to our will."_

 _His supervillain speech fell on deaf ears. Neither Marco nor Allion were paying any attention to him. Scarion didn't care._

 _"_ _But at the same time, these hands rumans were gifted with have allowed us to wield weapons, and wage war against each other. Creation and destruction. Design and ruin. Life and death. This contradiction has held us back for milenium."_

 _Marco was running out of air. He tried forming hand gestures, but his voice couldn't say the incantations._

 _"_ _With this ritual, with these hands, I will end you two. Then there will be no more obstacles in my way. I will be free to sculpt the perfect world."_

 _The next thing heard was a bloodcurdling scream. Scarion's scream._

 _As soon as his neck was free, Marco reflexively got up and gasped for air._

 _Scarion now laid on the floor in pain, with a puddle of blood forming under him. It took Marco a second to see the source of all that blood._

 _"_ _Try… making a perfect world with fucking stumps… asshole." Allion said, barely louder than a whisper._

 _Her palms had steam coming out, and the blood on them had already boiled off. That alone told Marco everything. There was no man-made weapon in this dimension that could cleave off two feet in one clean swing, so of course it was magic._

 _Allion had used the Annihilation Ritual. Her hands were now hot enough to melt through any material, including ruman bone. She had army-crawled her way up to Scarion while he was focused on Marco, and it was as simple as grabbing his ankles._

 _But the ritual lasted a lengthy fifteen minutes, and she was just as vulnerable to it as her brother. Without the use of her hands, Allion couldn't apply pressure to her wounds. She needed immediate medical attention._

 _Marco mustered as much strength as he could to get up. He was still aching from the beating he'd received from Scarion's soldiers, but it would take more than a few bruises and a sore throat to stop him._

 _Despite being in even worse condition, Allion got up as well. She gritted her teeth and inched ever closer to her brother, until her shadow loomed over him. She was planning to fall straight on top of Scarion and catch herself with her palms and, eventually, the ground underneath him._

 _Allion leaned forward and allowed gravity to do the rest._

 _Scarion stopped screaming, as if up until that point he was merely exaggerating the pain of having his feet cut off. He took out a knife and placed it in front of her._

 _It was a rather clever trick on Scarion's part. He probably assumed she didn't have enough time or strength to turn her body out of the way, and he_ was _right. But before the knife could reach Allions chest, her hand extended out and grabbed one of his gauntlets. The same gauntlet holding the knife._

 _The metal glove liquified around her palm effortlessly._

 _Scarion struck Allion with his free gauntlet before she could melt his right hand. The hit had so much force behind it, despite seemingly done with so little effort, that she flew across the room and hit a brick wall._

 _That's when Marco tackled him._

 _The two fought against each other on the ground again, but with Scarion's constant blood loss and the overwhelming pain he had been trying to endure, the odds were much more in Marco's favor._

 _After much struggle (and constant kicking at Scarion's stumps), Marco was finally able to grab a hold of the knife. Without a second's thought, he plunged the knife into Scarion's eye - the only eye he still had, and then ripped it back out before the scream even escaped his mouth._

 _Almost in a trance, Marco whipped the knife around and stabbed Scarion through the side of his head, where his ear was._

 _Scarion's chilling screams echoed through the dungeon, and Marco pulled the knife out again and pierced it through his neck, filling the sound with gurgling and choking._

 _And then he stabbed his neck again, and again, and again. The sounds of the dungeon quieted to the sloshing and squirting of blood. Scarion was long past dead, his throat reduced to mashed flesh, and his blood coating Marco's entire upper body._

 _At some point, Marco's shaking hands dropped the knife, and it clattered against the stone floor._

 _Dense silence filled the moment, and Marco stared down at the first person he had ever killed._

 _And then that silence was broken by a weak cough from across the room._

 _"_ _Allion!" Marco managed to say through his now raspy voice._

 _The disgraced guildmaster stumbled to his fiance. She rested on his arms, every breath being heavier than the last._

 _"_ _M-Marco? Did you do it?" she asked, looking off into the distance._

 _"_ _Don't talk right now. Conserve your strength. We may be traitors, but they need to keep us alive. I'll find a way to alert the guards and-"_

 _"_ _Shut up." Allion said. It wasn't the first time she bluntly disregarded her superior's orders, but it was her last._

 _Marco fought back the tears. Things were grim, but he needed to put on a strong face for his dying lover. It was the only thing he could do now. The rest was up to fate._

 _"_ _You killed him, right? You didn't just knock him unconscious, did you?"_

 _"_ _That's not important right now. We need to get you help. We need-"_

 _She grabbed the collar of his bloody shirt, which burned to dust in seconds. She had a thousand-yard stare, but was still looking Marco directly in the face._

 _"_ _Did. You. Kill. Him?" With nothing to hold on to, her hand fell back to the floor._

 _"_ _For fuck's sake, Allion! Yes, I killed him, okay? Your brother is dead. He's a fucking corpse on the floor! I'm… fuck, I'm so sorry. I know how much he meant to you..."_

 _Allion broke into a jarring laugh. "Marco, he stabbed me and told me I was nothing to him. He was a manipulative piece of shit. I'm just glad he's gone."_

 _"Y-yeah. Me too," Marco said awkwardly._

 _She coughed blood onto the floor and Marco's lap._

 _"Fuck..." Marco said._

 _"I'm sorry you had to do it. You were always stubborn about not killing people. It was… adorable, but that's not how you go about surviving this place. You have to play by its rules. I promise... it'll get easier, though."_

 _Marco looked like he was about to say something, but stopped himself. Now wasn't the time to argue morals._

 _"At least… knowing you actually had the balls to go this far, against my own brother, no less, it makes me happy. You'll make it through this and eventually go back to Earth. I no longer have any doubts about it."_

 _"You'll come with me, Ally," Marco assured, holding her tight. "We'll go to Earth together and you can meet my parents. We'll go to Mewni and see Star. God, there's so many places I wanted to take you. Just hang on."_

 _More seconds were passing in between each breath. Despite this, Allion's expression was the softest it'd been all week._

 _"Leave this shit-hole, Marco. Leave and never look back. You're too good for this place. You were too good… for me."_

 _All the conflicted and resentful feelings Marco had towards Allion since the failed assassination attempt we're no longer there. He still loved this woman. She made an honest mistake. She was a victim of Scarion's words. She didn't deserve this._

 _Allion used the last of her strength to hold the back of his head. She was in so much of a daze, she had forgotten that the ritual was still on. It burned like hell, but Marco didn't mind. It was the last time he would ever feel her touch. He cherished it._

 _"Thanks for making… this world… wonderful." she said._

 _Her arm fell to the ground once more. She closed her eyes. No one could hurt her anymore._

 _Marco looked down at her, tears streaming down his face._

 _He tried placing a hand on her forehead, but the soft touch of his finger formed a crack in her skin._

 _"Allion?"_

 _He stared dumbly at the woman. The fracture that ran down Allion's face now breached further down her body. Her clothes were even affected by this, being slit along the black rift._

 _Like the roots of a tree, the crack gradually spread out through her entire corpse, until the whole thing exploded into a hill of sand._

 _Marco slowly got up and looked around himself. Where Scarion's body was left was also a pile of sand._

 _He turned around, and Jackie was there._

 _Of course, Jackie wasn't exactly 'there.' She didn't know, for example, what color the stone walls were. She was clueless about how big or how small the cell was, and she didn't have the faintest idea what all this blood smelled like. But, her brain certainly tried its hardest to fill in the details._

 _"What are you doing here?" Marco asked her, numbly. "Isn't this none of your business?"_

 _Before Jackie had time to answer, a large fracture appeared diagonally around Marco's body, and he burst into sand as well._

* * *

Jackie shot forward, gasping for air. The bright sunlight assaulted her eyes and made her nauseous. She felt disgusting and sticky from the sweat seeping in through her clothes and gluing her hair to her forehead.

She desperately tried to break that image of Marco from her head, but it stayed there, burned into her retinas, taunting her with how horrible of a person she was.

She was shaking, simultaneously wired and exhausted, and it wasn't until she let out a quiet sob that she realized tears were rolling down her cheeks, mixing with the sweat and then dripping off her chin and on to her lap.

She was such an awful person.

She was an even worse friend.

And, even though she wasn't a hundred percent sure where she stood with Marco, she was a really, _really_ shitty girlfriend.

She sobbed again, and curled up to put her head between her knees.

And she stayed like that, for far too long, crying alone in her room until her throat was sore and her tears dried.

And then she took a deep breath.

And got out of bed.

And took a shower.

With her emotions in check, Jackie could actually focus. She let the water cascade down her body and hoped that it would somehow wash away the red circles around her eyes.

Once she looked presentable, she was going to confront Marco and tell him what she did, and take whatever consequences went with that.

It briefly occurred to her that if she _didn't_ tell him, the fact that the book went missing would never cross his mind.

She would have the opportunity to get away scot free…

But she HAD to tell him. She couldn't just pretend she didn't know everything about his life.

The wish would account for that, though, wouldn't it?

It would make it all normal.

 _And_ there was also the option of just saying that she gained the knowledge inherently, instead of obsessively reading through his personal thoughts and feelings, and completely ignoring his privacy...

Jackie splashed her face, as if slightly more water would make anything clearer.

It didn't.

With a long sigh, she turned the water off and stepped out into the bathroom. She dried off and wrapped a towel around her chest before heading back to her room.

She passed by her parents' room, where her mom would be fast asleep until at least noon.

What if she asked her mom for help?

Jackie shook the idea out of her head as fast as it came. Her mom would immediately keep her from ever interacting with Marco again if she found out about all this magic bullshit.

Yeah. No thank you.

Jackie walked back into her room and closed the door behind her.

On her desk, bound shut, was the journal.

She was a little surprised by that. Honestly, she thought it would just pop back into Marco's possession after she was done with it.

Maybe she _wasn't_ done with it?

Or maybe she was overthinking it and it was literally just that the wish got her the book and didn't care about giving it back.

After all, the last entry was before Marco faced off against Heckapoo (which Jackie would have to ask about, because there was _no way_ he could win against her in that state), so he probably hadn't even touched the journal since coming back to Earth. Even without the wish's interference, he probably wouldn't have noticed the journal's absence for a _while_.

Which meant there was no rush giving it back, apart from Jackie's own guilt gnawing away at her until she confessed.

Which she was definitely going to do.

She was going to walk over to Marco's house, and-

Oh.

Shit!

The plans!

She'd agreed to meet Janna and Marco at his house in the morning! To take a dimensional road trip or some shit.

She was late! It was after eleven already!

Jackie scrambled to get dressed and grabbed her cell to dial Janna.

After three rings, Janna finally picked up.

"Sup," she said, the same way she always said it.

"I slept in. Did you guys leave yet?"

"I sure haven't, but Marco might've gone without us." There were muffled voices in the background.

"What?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah. I came to meet up with him, but his house is gone."

"What!?"

The shrug was almost audible over the phone. "Yeah. There's just a crater where his house was. The police are investigating," Janna said, with all the urgency of an obituary reading.

A _crater?_

A million _very_ bad possibilities swarmed through Jackie's head.

"Hold on, I'll be there soon!" Jackie said, slipping the journal into her bag.

"Take your time. The crater isn't going anywhere."

"Yeah, probably not." ...but it _might_. Jackie hung up and gave herself a quick once-over before running out the door and jumping on her skateboard.

Oh. Wait. Right. Magic scissors!

Jackie turned around and hopped off her skateboard to run back inside.

Idiot that she was, she left Marco's scissors on her desk, right next to where the journal had been, and _still_ forgot about them.

With a sigh, Jackie put her skateboard into her backpack and grabbed the scissors.

With one last check that she had everything she needed, she opened up a portal to Marco's front yard and stepped through.

As her foot landed on Marco's lawn and her view changed, she noted several things around her.

The first was the small crowd of people, probably twenty or thirty of them, gathered around.

The second was Janna, slurping on a smoothie near a police car and police woman, who seemed to have only recently shown up, considering how surprised she was by the scene.

And the last thing was, of course, the large crater where Marco's house was.

"Wow," Janna said, monotone. "He gave you his scissors, huh?"

"Uh, yeah," Jackie said, glancing down at the scissors that still very clearly said _Marco_ in the Ancient Tongue.

"You know what he'll give you next, right?" Janna said with a grin.

It took Jackie way too many seconds to realize what Janna was implying, and when she did, she rolled her eyes in response. "Yeah, whatever."

Janna wasn't going to give her any answers anyway, so Jackie made her way through the crowd to get a better look at the crater.

It was perfectly spherical, with rounded edges even through the dirt, and with large rocks even just having been sliced in half where it met the open air.

There were a few kids her age in the crater, obviously not even trying to be cautious, marveling at the shape of the thing.

Dumbasses.

Ignoring them, Jackie walked up to one of the crowd members at the edge of the crater and asked, "Did you see what happened?"

The woman shook her head. "No, Gerry over there saw it this morning when he was walking his dog- always walks her at seven on the dot- and when he saw it, he dropped the leash. First thing Spottie did was run right down into the hole."

Jackie glanced over to where an old man was petting his beagle protectively.

"He couldn't get her out, so he called up Susan, and she called up David and his sons, who called up all their friends, and within an hour or two, we had an army to pull poor little Spottie out." She gestured to the two idiots in the crater. "And now all of our kids are taking turns in there. Seems harmless enough."

Jackie had to take a second to process how idiotic this whole thing was. What if the crater was radioactive? What if it was pouring out heaps of dangerous magic into them?

These people had a great sense of community, but apparently no sense of self preservation.

But…

Wait…

If people had been in the crater since this morning…

The answer hit Jackie like a brick.

 _Marco_ was a dumbass, too!

And now Jackie had to bail him out.

"Hey, get out of there!" Jackie yelled to the guys in the crater.

They both looked up at her in confusion. One of them even said, "What?"

"You heard me," Jackie said. "Get out of there, now!"

"You can't tell us what to do!" the other guy said. "This is _our_ neighborhood!"

What was this? A suburban gang?

The police officer that had been stunned by the scene walked up to the crater.

"I can. Get out of there," she said.

Immediately both guys lost their spines and crawled up in a flurry of "yes ma'am"s and "sorry's."

The officer paid them no mind and instead turned her attention to Jackie.

"Do you know what's going on here?" she asked, her tone serious.

Jackie nodded. "I'm pretty sure. My, uh, _friend_ lives here, and this is something he's done before."

The officer nodded understandingly. "Do we need to clear everyone out of the yard as well?"

Wow. She didn't expect that to go so smoothly. "Uh, it would help."

With another nod, the officer turned to the crowd and yelled, "Alright! Everyone go home. This is an active investigation and you are on the crime scene."

With a bunch of groans and sighs, the crowd of nosy neighbors dissipated and made their way to the streets.

Once they were far enough away, Jackie tuned to the crater and yelled, "The coast is clear!"

There was a moment where nothing happened, and then the house and surrounding ground faded back into existence.

Not waiting for a second more, Jackie ran in through the front door. Inside, Marco and his parents were standing in the living room. Though, that was as much as Jackie got to take in before she was wrapped in a tight fatherly hug.

"Oh thank you so much Jackie!" Marco's dad said, squeezing her with all his might.

"Ah, um, sure thing. Mr. Diaz."

"We thought we were going to have to wait forever," his mom said.

Jackie pulled away from the hug and saw Marco, who had taken a couple of steps toward the scene. He didn't look tired, but Jackie knew he had stayed up all night.

"Uh, thanks for helping me close off the ritual," Marco said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "And sorry if I made you worry."

"No problem," Jackie said. She had no idea _why_ Marco used the Barrier Ritual, but as long as people stood in the spell's radius, Marco couldn't deactivate it, lest the Diazs' neighbors became a permanent part of the ground, wood, and concrete that made up their house.

Behind her, the police officer knocked on the already-open door, gathering everyone's attention.

"Marco?" she said, a little apprehensively.

"Pierce!" Marco said. "Yeah, sorry about that."

He walked over to her and Jackie frowned.

Of _course_ no one asked how Jackie knew what to do. No one even asked how she knew Marco wasn't just dead. The wish was covering her ass.

With a sigh, Jackie walked over to Marco where he was talking to the police officer and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Jackie asked. "It's important."

Marco looked over at her and a couple of expressions crossed his face, signalling that he'd just had a very short conversation with Kar.

Then, he said, "yeah, of course."

"Alone," Jackie corrected.

Marco's face tinged a little pink, and Jackie wanted to roll her eyes. What happened to ?

When he didn't immediately move to talk to her alone, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the kitchen.

Marco stopped blushing and looked at her in concern. "Is everything okay?"

"Look, I found out what my wish was," Jackie said. "And this isn't going to be easy to hear, but I-"

"Marco, I brought the thing you asked for," the police officer said from the doorway, impatiently.

"The finger!" Marco said, immediately losing concentration and turning his full attention to that. He even went out into the living room again to talk to her, leaving Jackie alone.

For a moment, Jackie was angry, but then the absurdity of the situation hit her, and she realized Marco wouldn't normally get swayed so easily from a conversation that Jackie _told him_ was important.

So, the wish was going to play dirty, huh?

But another thought hit her, right after she reasoned that out.

A _finger_? What the hell did Marco need a finger for?

Jackie was assuming it was a human finger (though, it could belong to a monster or demon), so it really only narrowed it down to a few uses.

She could cross blood magic off the list. She doubted Marco remembered the specifics well enough, considering the last time he even encountered blood mages was shortly after Allion's death. After that part, they were really only mentioned as some comparison piece, such as "it wasn't as bad as Mirria, but it was worse than blood mages".

And even if he remembered, he probably wouldn't actually use it…

That left a few other possibilities-

Jackie then caught herself pacing back and forth in an empty kitchen. She could faintly hear Marco talking to that officer.

 _Duh_. Jackie didn't have to play this stupid speculation game, when she could hear it staright from the source.

Jackie went to the doorway and listened in on them.

"The whole point was to stay _inconspicuous_ , which you obviously missed the point of," the officer said, gesturing around the room.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," Marco said, rubbing the back of his head. "But after I told my parents how someone has it out for me, they got worried. So to ease them, I used magic that would make us undetectable. It was only gonna last til sunrise."

Was he talking about Heckapoo?

"I got reports that a dog fell in there around seven, well past sunrise. Why didn't you close it before then?" she asked pensively.

"I… uh, got distracted and wasn't looking outside," Marco admitted.

The officer just shook her head. "Just please keep a low profile for now on. People already have a target on your house, Diaz. With all the crazy reports we've gotten about it already, it's practically an Echo Creek tourist trap. Not only will they notice any discrepancies, they'll actively seek them out for the next bit of gossip. There were _fourteen_ reports when your house caught fire this week. Don't do anything like that again."

Jackie peeked a little and saw that Marco was holding a tupperware container. The finger was probably in there.

Marco, possibly in an attempt to not feel like a child getting scolded, shrugged indifferently. "Well, if we get the answers we need, then I won't have to."

Oh! He was going to use the Seance Ritual!

The officer frowned. "Until people know about magic, you shouldn't do anything flashy. Not just your little disappearing act. _Anything_."

Was this police officer part of Marco's plan to integrate magic?

Wait, wasn't this none of Jackie's business!?

A feeling of dread settled in her stomach. She'd been _spying_. Just casually eavesdropping in on Marco's private conversation!

Jackie quickly stepped deeper into the kitchen so that she couldn't hear Marco anymore.

Ugh. She was as bad as Star!

Worse even!

Jackie pulled her hand through her hair. She had to tell Marco what was going on, and then if she wanted to know what was going on in his life, she could _ask_ like a normal person!

She took a deep breath to calm herself.

Okay, whatever the hell Marco was doing could wait until after Jackie told him about his journal.

And if the wish wanted to stop her from doing that, it would have to try harder than it already had.

Jackie glanced back around at where Marco was in the living room, and saw that he was talking to his parents now. Perfect.

Jackie made a beeline to the conversation and grabbed Marco's arm, catching his attention instantly.

"Come on," Jackie ordered, pulling Marco along before he had an actual chance to respond, and dragging him out into the yard.

"What's wrong?" Marco asked, forgetting she had something important to tell him,

"I'll tell you once we're in complete privacy," Jackie said.

Behind the Diaz's house was a shed, which was what she was pulling Marco towards, and which was private enough that little to no reasonable interruptions could actually occur.

She pulled open the shed door, then paused and turned back to Marco.

"Why is your shed unlocked?" She honestly hadn't thought about that road block until it wasn't there.

Marco shrugged and said, "Is it? I don't remember."

Thinking on it, it was exactly like the Diaz's to be so trusting that they'd just left it that way.

But either way, Jackie had a plan and she had to follow through with it.

So, she pulled Marco through the door and pulled the chain to turn the light on above them. After closing the door and shutting them in, she took a deep breath.

"Okay. I need you to promise me that no matter what distraction comes our way, you'll give me your complete attention," Jackie said.

Marco looked uneasily at their surroundings and then at Jackie, a light tinge of red across his face. "S-sure. I promise."

Jackie nodded and pulled her backpack off. "I found out what my wish was."

She briefly looked up to double check that nothing had interrupted them yet, and then unzipped the top of the bag.

Here went nothing.

She reached in and took hold of the journal. "Last night, your journal-"

Jackie stopped what she was saying, because Marco fell forward into her, and she barely managed to catch him in time.

He was in a flashback. The wish would probably do that every time she tried to tell him.

God damn it! How was she supposed to be the good guy here?

Jackie stared down at Marco's unconscious body. Where or when was he? There was no way to tell if he was in a terrible memory or a fun one, but Jackie's heart pulled a little at the idea that he was back in the most hellish parts of his life.

She would ask him what he saw when he woke up.

But in the meantime, she needed to come up with another plan, or at least grab one of the hedgeho-

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and sunlight poured in over her and Marco's bodies.

"So, what's with the suspicious hiding in a shed?" Janna said, leaning against the door casually.

"Uh," Jackie said, her mind immediately scrambling to figure out whether Janna's interruption was of her own free will, or if it was just a back-up plan for the wish.

"Wait, does this have something to do with your wish?" Janna said, showing off her innate ability to know exactly what was going on half the time.

"Sort of?" Jackie reasoned. Might as well tell Janna what she could, right? "The wish doesn't want me telling Marco about it."

Janna frowned. "Well, that's bullcrap. What was the wish?"

Was it possible that Janna was immune to the wish's effects? Only one way to find out.. Jackie looked her friend in the eyes. "I read through all of Marco's personal journal."

Except, Janna had turned around while Jackie was saying that, and then turned back after she was done.

"Sorry, I thought I heard my name for a second," Janna said, and then her eyes went wide. "Oh, shit. You can't tell _anyone_ about it, can you?"

Jackie breathed a sigh of relief. "No, I can't. Everyone gets distracted or passes out whenever I try to tell them. It's like this higher being is mind controlling everyone around me."

"But why?" Janna asked, stepping all the way in and closing the door behind them.

"It did the same thing so that you could avoid Science tests for the rest of the year," Jackie reasoned.

"Yeah, but you and Marco knew about that. Why can't we know about yours?" Janna said, looking down at the unconscious Marco. She tapped him lightly with the toe of her boot.

Hopefully he was in a good flashback…

"Probably because the higher being wants the best immediate outcome for the wishes?" Jackie guessed. "Like, me and Marco don't think any less of you for not wanting to take the science test, but you two will think a lot worse of me if you knew my wish."

Janna frowned. "That bad?"

Jackie thought for a moment. "You know Marco's journal? The one he mentioned in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Janna said, miraculously still paying attention.

"If you had the chance, would you read it?"

Janna shrugged. "Probably."

Jackie blinked. "What?"

"Well, I know _you_ wouldn't, but I really wanna know what happened to Toza."

Jackie frowned. She briefly considered telling Janna what happened to Toza, but the wish most likely wouldn't let her, and it was better if Marco was the one to tell her anyway, so she just continued with her hypothetical. "But, what if I did?"

"You totally wouldn't. You're basically a goodie-two-shoes through and through."

"Well, my wish involved me doing something decidedly _not_ goody-two-shoes, so it would change your mind on that," Jackie explained, knowing that the wish would stop her from catching on that it was _literally_ that.

Janna thought about it for a moment. "Okay, so then this douchebag god thing decided that we don't get to know about it because we'll think differently about you?"

Jackie nodded.

"What a cop out. Jackie, get out those scissors. We're gonna go show that thing what happens when he messes with Janna Ordonia!"

Jackie kind of stared at her for a second. "You can't be serious. This thing can control reality and everyone we know. I don't think we're a threat to it."

"Yeah, well it hasn't met _me_ yet!" Janna reached into Jackie's pocket and pulled the scissors out.

"Actually- hey!" Jackie said, scrambling to grab the scissors as they were pulled away from her.

Janna ignored her and opened a portal right there in the shed. "Come on, are we going or not?"

"Uh," Jackie said, staring at the portal. Then, with a resigned sigh, she said, "Sure, why not?" She took one last look at the unconscious Marco and went through the portal.

She ended up in the same spot Marco had brought them the day before, at the end of a long path leading to a towering temple. Jackie briefly wondered if it was the same _exact_ spot as Marco's portal, because it almost looked like it.

Janna stepped through after Jackie and then handed her the scissors.

Oh.

Janna could have easily closed the portal and trapped her in a dimension she knew nothing about.

Jackie should've been a little more careful and made Janna go first…

"What're you waiting for? Let's go," Janna said, walking ahead towards the temple.

Jackie followed behind her and frowned. Should she even question something like that? They weren't the closest of friends, but Janna wouldn't betray her.

Like _Allion_ wouldn't. Like _Kranal_ wouldn't. Like _Ortand_ , or _Fetha_ , or _Selak_ , or-

God. How did Marco have an ounce of trust left in him?

And _Jackie_ betrayed him, too.

Well, she didn't try to _kill_ him or anything, but this wasn't Heckapoo's dimension. This was Earth. What she did was basically the worst possible way she could betray him here.

Would he forgive her when she told him what she did? After being betrayed so many times? Would she be the last straw, the one to break his long-running streak of trust?

"Dude. Earth to Jackie," Janna said.

Jackie blinked. "Uh, yeah, sorry."

"Did you hear a word I said?" Janna asked.

"No," Jackie answered honestly. She hadn't even realized she was speaking.

Janna shrugged. "That's okay. It wasn't funny anyway." She knocked on the temple door. "Looks like it's locked."

Oh. They were at the doors of the temple already.

They looked the same as before, but had a giant chain across the handles with a large padlock holding it shut. Hanging from the chain was a sign that said "Closed On Weekend. Come Back Later" in English, and Jackie wondered if the sign just sensed their native language, or if this dimension just spoke it.

Without missing a beat, Janna pulled out what looked like professional lock-picking gear from her hat and leaned down to look in the padlock's hole.

"What are you doing?" Jackie asked, already knowing the answer.

"Uh, getting us in, duh," Janna said, standing back up and looking through the picks she had. She decided on one and slipped it into the padlock.

Immediately, the hole of the padlock closed, snapping the pick in half.

They both stared at it and Jackie sighed. "I don't think we can get in."

Janna shook her head. "No, it's just time for plan B." She grabbed the dimensional scissors from Jackie's pocket like it was nothing and cut open a portal. "After you."

Jackie stared at the portal for a moment, and decided that she _would_ in fact trust Janna with her life on this, and stepped through.

She expected to step into complete darkness, but instead she emerged at the end of the path - the same place as the portal had been both times before.

Oh. It was probably the only spot they were allowed to portal to in this dimension. Or at least around this temple.

"Wait!" Jackie yelled to where Janna was about to step through her end of the portal.

Janna stopped and turned to Jackie. She had what was probably the same thought process and then groaned loudly enough that Jackie could still hear it from so far away. "Really?"

Jackie stepped back through the portal and ended up next to Janna again. "Like I said, I don't think we can get in."

Janna didn't listen, and instead examined the door for any sort of opening. "There _has_ to be a way for us to open this thing."

"There's definitely magic stopping us from breaking in," Jackie said.

"So then we just have to use _magic_ to get in," Janna said. "Let's get Marco. I'm sure he'll know what to do."

"No," Jackie said. "He'll just say that we can't defy a higher being and we're just kids who don't know what we're doing, and he's probably right about that. We can't just..."

Jackie stopped, staring at the padlock.

It _was_ a lock, magic or not… right?

And, though Marco was wrong about _this_ higher being and how it worked, the other had definitely stuck to its rules for at least the decade that Marco had used its power…

And what was a few hours without opening doors, right?

Jackie swallowed uncomfortably. Was she really going to cross this line?

Was it better to test the waters with a dip of the toe?

Deciding that she couldn't just stand there like an idiot forever, she took a deep breath and turned to Janna.

"I can open it," she said, trying to sound confident, but her voice cracking a little under the stress.

Janna stopped looking for cracks in the bottom of the door and looked up at Jackie. "Really? Get on it, then."

Of course. No questions of how. This was the problem.

Fine. If that was how it was played…

Jackie pulled her backpack off and took the journal out. She had a general idea of when Marco learned it, so once she got to the right section, it was easy enough to find the specific page she was looking for.

Instructions, with detailed diagrams and exact incantations.

Marco always was a note-taker.

After looking it over again, Jackie turned her attention to the lock and put the journal on the ground. She pointed at the padlock with her index fingers on both hands, flush against each other, just like Marco's diagrams had shown.

Then, she said, in the Ancient Tongue, " _Remove this barrier and I will be barred for time to come._ "

As she said the last word, she ripped her hands apart from each other, and the padlock unlocked, letting the chain fall from the handles and land on the floor in a heavy heap.

Jackie just stood there, almost shocked that it worked that easily.

She'd just… used magic.

No. Not just magic. She used a _Ritual._

"Oh wow, you got it open," Janna said, having obviously spaced out for the last minute or two.

"Yeah," Jackie said, barely above a whisper. Almost in a daze, she picked the journal up off the ground and put it back in her backpack while Janna pushed the doors open.

The two quietly walked inside the temple until, just like before, the doors closed on their own and the inside was completely shrouded in darkness.

"Hey, Asshole! We have a bone to pick with you!" Janna shouted, her voice echoing several times over as if to remind her of how _stupid_ of opener that was.

Jackie sort of wished she had memorized a few more of the journal entries before letting Janna do the talking. At least then they would have a way out of there. As it stood, they were both at the mercy of a Higher Being.

 **"** **E-excuse me?"** a surprised voice said. The voice was almost as pointlessly loud as it was before, but without the exaggerated theatrics. It made it seem like they were talking to a normal person, and not a superpowered deity who could turn them inside out without a second thought.

Jackie responded before Janna could. "What my friend is trying to say Mr…" Shit! Did Marco say it was Grog' or 'Grern'? "...G. We, uh, have a few questions about a wish you had granted yesterday."

 **"** **How did you get in here?"** 'G' asked, dismissing what Jackie said.

"We… came in through the door?" Jackie said, trying to shrug off the topic.

Several seconds of silence went by. **"Did I forget to lock the front? Please tell me I didn't forget to lock the front. This is so embarrassing."** G sounded like Jackie's dad did when he accidentally left the car keys in their van.

"Oh, the lock was there all right, but we busted that shit wide open," Janna said proudly. "We know how you guys like to look down on us Earthlings, but underestimating us could be the last mistake you ever make."

 **"** **Wow, okay, so, I grant you wishes, and in return you break into my temple and call me names. That is rude. You're rude."**

This was getting surreal. Marco had hyped up these Gods to be unstoppable forces of nature that puny mortals couldn't possibly comprehend the motivations of. This was like an argument between two randos on the internet.

"Rude?" Janna scoffed at the notion. "My friend here had her morally questionable wish granted without her consent, and now whenever she tries to own up to it, the people around her either pass out or get distracted by a shiny blade of grass. I'd consider that pretty _rude._ "

 **"** **Young Lady, the happenstances around you are only present when you try to fight the effects of the wish. They're safety measures. If you let things play out, it will be back to business as usual, and the actions of those around you should return to normal."** G followed that up with a sigh, as if it was the most obvious thing in the multiverse.

"But can you stop these safety measures?" Jackie asked. "What if I don't want what the wish _thinks_ I want?"

 **"** **The wish operates in your best interest. There's no reason to go against it, Ms. Thomas."**

"You didn't answer my question, though. Can you stop the wish from interrupting me when trying to talk to Marco? Yes or No?" Jackie asked, holding her ground.

A cough echoed through the chamber. Did this higher being even have a throat to clear? **"No, I cannot. Once your wish is granted, my powers will bring your desires into reality, and that reality will be woven into the threads of fate itself."**

Ugh, great. _Fate_ _mechanics_. "Fine, screw it, how do you go about altering fate? I'm sure there's someone in the multiverse who specializes in it? You guys certainly like to take abstract concepts and reshape them like play-doh."

 **"** **Omnitraxus Prime of the High Commission deals in such things. Though he isn't exactly known for taking requests..."**

The High Commission? The bullshit magic police that Heckapoo was from?

Yeah, hard pass.

"Is there anyone _else_ who works with fate?" Jackie asked.

There was a pause, and then G said, **"uhh, I can't really think of anyone? I'm sure there's** ** _someone_** **, but Omnitraxus is really the only guy that comes to mind."**

This was useless. This asshole was granting people's wishes blindly and locking people out on the weekends so he could avoid complaints.

 **"** **Though, I will stress that you** ** _shouldn't_** **try to change your wish before it comes to fruition."**

Before it- what?

"I already read the journal. What else is there to this wish?" Jackie asked, narrowing her eyes at the darkness before her.

 **"** **Well, your wish was to be together with Marco, in a relationship where he isn't hiding everything from you,"** G explained. **"The first part of that was learning the secrets that he already held from you, and gaining an interest and knowledge in magic that will help him see you as more of an equal."**

Jackie was honestly so glad that the wish didn't just mind-control Marco into liking her. But also… wow.

"What's the second part?"

 **"** **With your interest in magic, you'll be a bigger part of his goals and plans, as well as more understanding of his plights and traumas. These things will help you surpass any obstacles to your relationship developing."**

"Obstacles?" Jackie asked. "What kinds of obstacles?" She severely hoped they weren't the _literal_ _backstabbing_ kinds of obstacles.

 **"** **Star Butterfly, mainly."**

Uh. "Wait, what?" Jackie asked. "This whole crazy set up is because of Star? So, what, I can cheat her out of her chance to get with Marco?" Was… Marco never going to see Star again because of her wish?"

 **"** **It's not up to me to decide** ** _how_** **the wish helps you, but if Star Butterfly truly represents a rift between you and Marco, then fate will act accordingly."**

Jackie just stood there, trying to process everything.

Inside the darkness, G spoke again. **"Um, don't worry about Ms. Ordonia, by the way. She fell asleep as soon as we got into the specifics. Your secret is forever safe."**

"How did it come to this?" Jackie asked, holding herself. "Was all this really on the back of my mind when we were first in the temple?"

She truly was an awful person. Jackie wanted to be the cool girl, she wanted to forgive Star for spying on her and Marco. She had just found out last night that when you're handed an easy opportunity like that on a silver platter, the temptation is too hard to ignore. Yet she was still pissed at Star and wanted her away from Marco. She was such a hypocrite…

 **"** **Think back to the lunch room, Ms. Thomas. Marco told you his ambitions, and offered his friends an opportunity to join him on his crusade. You remembered the traumatic experience inside the wand, yet still raised your hand. Was this courage? No, it was a fear of being useless to him. Ferguson and Alfonzo opted out, and while Marco was grateful for their help up to that point, deep down you knew they would drift apart from him. Their friendship ended right then and there. Marco had moved on."**

That was true, Jackie _didn't_ want to end up like Ferguson and Alfonzo, and that was why she raised her hand. Magic terrified her, more or less, and she didn't really think making it mainstream on Earth was a good idea.

Marco assured her that it wasn't an ultimatum, and she believed him, but all that was _after_ Jackie went into the temple. Her agreement in the first place was just a desperate attempt to stay relevant.

"But Marco said that you only granted mundane wishes," Jackie said, already kinda sure what G's response would be.

 **"** **That was merely an interpretation on his part. I help soothe the troubled minds of people by helping them go through whatever was causing them the most grief. For Marco, it happened to be hunger."**

Of course, why was Jackie expecting anything different? She had just read an entire sixteen year account of a man who acted on incorrect assumptions _all the time_ , and almost never thought to ask what was going on until it was too late.

Why Allion knew about Rituals in the first place.

The Elesh Priests who promised him they could bring his lover back to life.

Where all the prisoners were disappearing to.

If a village's guardian spirit needed sacrifices for a legitimate reason.

Why all the members of the Felecxta Clan had glowing eyes.

Whether or not a cave filled with monsters was perhaps too much for a family of farmers.

If Tashern really had enough life force to put into Marco's sword and still come out alive.

That the owner of a slave casino wouldn't cheat at cards.

God, Marco was a _dumbass._

...But Jackie wasn't going to make the same mistakes.

"Hey G," she said, not entirely sure how long she'd made him wait. "You know and see _everything as it happens_ , right?"

There was a short pause before he said, **"Um, yes. More or less."**

"And you still don't know how I got in?"

There was another pause, and then, quieter, he said, **"N-no. I can see you looking through the journal in front of the temple, and then you were walking in. But how you managed to undo the lock eludes me."**

He sounded so… unnerved. Were the rituals blind spots for him? Did it work that way for all the higher beings? Were people just pawns for higher beings fucking with each other?

Despite that train of thought, knowing that G couldn't see the rituals gave Jackie a sliver of hope. Maybe she could fix this wish.

"I think we're done here," Jackie said. "If nothing else, thank you for answering my questions honestly, Mr-"

 **"** **Grong. My name is Grong,"** he said. **"But before you leave, I want to tell you one last thing, Ms. Thomas."**

"Okay, shoot."

 **"** **Ms. Odonia suggested that I look down on you humans, and I suppose by extension all mortal life, but that couldn't be further from the truth. If there's one thing that our kind fear, it's uncertainty. It is impossible to be truly all knowing, but some higher beings cannot come to terms with that, and will resort to anything to maintain a status quo or a delusion of omnipotence. It can drive some of them mad. Yet, you mortals are faced with nothing** ** _but uncertainty_** **, and are still able to go about your daily lives. I've always respected that, and it is why I offer my services in the first place. To make your lives a little more… predictable."**

"Um, thank you?" Jackie said, unsure of what else she could say to that.

 **"** **Maybe this method of obtaining Marco's affection will feel unearned at first, but the wish works alongside reality. Marco already had genuine feelings for you, and this wish merely pushes both of you towards each other."**

"Then what about Star? Does Marco… have genuine feelings for her as well?" Jackie swallowed uncomfortably.

 **"** **That… is also an uncertainty."**

An uncertainty?

As in, Marco used a ritual on Star?

That _had_ to be it, right? The rituals were a blind spot for G. If he had no idea whether they liked each other…

Did Marco use the Obsession Ritual? Jackie shuddered at the thought. Ew, no.

But… Just in case, she would ask him what was going on once she settled this whole wish thing.

 **"** **And with that, I am sorry to kick you out, but I have things to do and you've already taken up a good chunk of my off time, so if you could please** ** _leave_** **."**

As the final word left his mouth, Jackie felt a force push her out of the temple and back on to the pathway. Janna was rolled out beside her, still unconscious.

A moment passed where Jackie had to reorient herself to the light and Janna slowly got up with a yawn.

"Woah, I can't believe I fell asleep. I guess I shouldn't have pulled an all-nighter," Janna said, putting a hand over her eyes to block the sun.

"It wasn't the all-nighter, it was the higher being," Jackie said. She looked down at the ground and kicked a pebble.

Was there an easy solution that she was missing?

"Jesus, really?" Janna said with a sigh. "So I'm guessing you didn't make any headway with Tall, Dark, and Spooky?"

"No. He can't actually do anything about it. He's powerless in the face of his own wishgranting."

"Wow. Dumb." Janna stretched.

"Yeah," Jackie said. "I guess we should head back, right?"

"Already on it." Janna opened a portal to her side and gestured for Jackie to go through.

They both stepped through to Marco's backyard and the portal closed behind them.

"Hey Janna," Jackie said. "Why were you so worried about the science test?" It just seemed so un-Janna-like to give a shit about that sort of thing.

There was a moment where Janna definitely considered lying, but then she sighed and said, "My parents are college professors. Like, the biggest nerds you'll ever meet. I didn't want to disappoint them."

"Did you tell them about it?" Jackie asked.

Janna blinked. "The wish? No, and I guess even if I tried to, the Wish-God or whatever would stop me."

"I meant your test result," Jackie corrected.

"Oh hell yeah!" Janna said. "It's the first thing I did as soon as they got home. They were so proud of me, and didn't even question why the rest of the year was covered as well. I felt so…"

Janna stopped for a moment, and then her expression turned sullen.

"It feels kind of shallow now. I get why you'd want to tell everyone."

Jackie took a deep breath. "Yeah."

"If we can figure out how to get around it, then maybe I'll tell my parents."

"If there _is_ a way around it," Jackie said.

"I know I said this earlier, but we could ask Marco for help. Maybe there's some magic that can override it or something," Janna said with a shrug.

Oh.

OH.

"Maybe there is," Jackie said with a smirk.

The Learning Ritual. If she could tell Marco what was going on while the wish was blindsighted by the ritual, then maybe it would work!

After all, what was the worst that could happen? Another flashback?

And the price wasn't too steep. He would learn one thing she wanted him to know and one thing she didn't, but she was already telling him the worst thing she had to tell him, so it was just a win-win!

Jackie ran up to the shed and placed her hand on the handle. She stared at the handle for way too long, unsure of what to do next, before she realized it was because of the Unlocking Ritual.

Oh yeah. She couldn't open doors.

"Janna! Can you get this for me?"

"Uh, ,sure, though after you opened that temple door I don't see why you'd need my help," Janna said, walking up to her.

The irony in that statement was real.

Janna casually opened the door and natural light filled the room again. Marco was still lying uncomfortably on the floor.

"I figured he would have woken up by now," Janna said, arms crossed.

Jackie looked down. Yeah. This flashback was almost as long as the one when she and Star went into the wand. "Do you think they're becoming longer?"

Janna thought about it for a second. "I doubt it. He was fine for most of school yesterday. It's probably random and nonsensical. A classic Star trait if I ever fucking saw one."

That was a good point. It _was_ more in line with Star's style.

"God, it's so nice to be able to swear again like a normal teenager, now that Star's gone," Janna said, basking in her newfound verbal freedom before looking slightly ashamed. "Too soon?"

"Yeah, a little," Jackie confirmed, then looking back on Marco. "I'm gonna try something on him, now. It's our best hope for beating this wish."

"Shouldn't we wake him up with a hedgehog first?" Janna asked. "I mean, I'm all for doing things to Marco while he's unconscious, but-"

"If he knew what I was about to do, he'd probably try to stop me."

"Alright, you sold me. Go ahead, Master of Unlocking," Janna said.

Jackie nodded and pulled out the journal, noting how Janna's eyes immediately seemed to gloss over. That was fine. If this worked on Marco, she would do it to Janna, too. There probably wasn't anything Janna didn't already know about Jackie's personal life, anyway. She wouldn't be surprised if Janna could recite her social security number, which even Jackie couldn't think of off the top of her head.

Right. The ritual.

Jackie flipped through the pages, briefly annoyed that there wasn't a table of contents, and eventually found the area with the most ritual instructions in it- Marco's time with the monks. It was then that he was taught the Learning Ritual, which made sense because you had to know the Ancient Tongue thoroughly to use it. It wasn't like someone like Allion could do it.

Luckily, the wish had granted her absolute fluency in the language, probably to push her toward using the rituals, and eventually toward magic in general-

She was getting off topic.

With a deep breath, she perused Marco's time with the monks and eventually found the entry detailing the ritual.

She read it three times over to ensure she didn't mess it up, and then put the journal back into her bag.

Then, she placed her hands onto Marco's head, flaying the fingers out so that her pinkies and ring fingers went around his ears, her palms covered his eyes, and her thumbs bent to poke straight into his forehead.

After a moment to make sure it was correctly placed, she recited in the Ancient Tongue, " _I am giving you the truth, both the good and the bad. You will learn the entirety. You will know of my sins and my faults. But what I_ _want_ _you to know is that I have read the entirety of your journal._ "

Light poured from Marco's eyes under Jackie's palms. She held her hands there until the light stopped, and then left them for a few extra seconds for good measure.

Jackie was almost surprised by how little mental resistance she had going through with this. G spelled out to her that Marco would grow to love her, and well, the idea of that _did_ seem nice. Perhaps she wasn't as awful as she thought? Or maybe this was just her form of atonement, or this is what any reasonable person would do in this position.

Even if it could come at the cost of her friendship with Marco...

Then, as she pulled her hands away, Marco blinked several times, a blank expression on his face.

"Oh, you're awake," Janna said, not even realizing she blacked out for the duration of the ritual.

Marco looked between Janna and Jackie several times, and his mouth opened and closed.

"Are you okay?" Jackie asked, keeping her voice low. Panic rose in her chest. Had the wish given Marco brain damage just to prevent the ritual from working?

Marco shifted his attention fully to Jackie, but he couldn't seem to form words.

Instead, his arm convulsed, turning from tan to purple and growing into Kar'Margorach, the demon who, more than any other ally he'd made on his quest, kept Marco going. Jackie had a newfound respect for Kar, having actually seen what he'd been through and what he'd done.

 **"** **Don't worry, Jackie,"** Kar said. **"It fucking worked."**

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** I know it's been a while, but we're back with another chapter! Moving to our first house has been hectic, but we should be done soon, and hopefully start coming out with chapters a little faster? No promises though.

Anyway. Holy shit, this chapter was 32 pages long. A bit of a monster, but we're happy with how it turned out :)

The beginning "flashback" isn't EXACTLY how Allion died (mostly Jackie's brain filling in details, like how Scarion's supervillain speech went) but it's probably the only version you guys will see so it'll work well enough!

Thank you guys for reading as always, and if you want to read some of our other writing, you can check out our webcomic at SuicideNoun(.com)!

Peace!


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